


Strawberries & Cigarettes

by dimpled_halo



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alpha Harry, Alpha Niall, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Anal Sex, Angst with a Happy Ending, Artist Louis, Blow Jobs, Breeding Kink, CEO Harry, Coming of Age, Daddy Issues, Domestic Fluff, Exes, Exes to Lovers, Falling In Love, First Time, Fluff and Angst, Forbidden Love, Friends to Lovers, Hand Jobs, High School, Implied Mpreg, Jealous Harry, Jealous Louis, Knotting, Love Confessions, M/M, MPREG SEX, Marking, Mating, Mating Bond, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Minor Character Death, Miscommunication, Mpreg, Mpreg Louis, Nerd Harry, Omega Louis, Oral Knotting, Post-Break Up, Protective Harry, Punk Louis, Rich Harry, Rimming, Scent Marking, Scenting, Scents & Smells, Secret Relationship, Self-Lubrication, Smut, Tattoos, They're American in this, Time Jump, Unresolved Tension, Young Love, and it doesn't get explicit, it's just mentions of it, the mpreg stuff takes place after the story ends in the time stamps just FYI, very mild
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-04-24 05:28:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 76,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14348904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dimpled_halo/pseuds/dimpled_halo
Summary: Harry looks up and immediately freezes. Next to Ms. Archie stands the boy from just the other day. The boy with the leather jacket and chipped black nails, that might or might not be sketched in the very book Harry has just placed on the table in front of him. The leather jacket is missing today, probably because they aren’t allowed as part of their required uniform attire, but Harry can still see the fading black nail polish on his nails, and eyeliner around his eyes. Harry’s mouth goes a little dry. This boy is so intriguing to him.“Ye-yes, Ms. Archie?” Harry tries to play it cool, but he’s almost positive that his cheeks are burning red, and he’s relieved neither of them can tell how fast his heart is beating in his chest.The boy seems to also recognize Harry, because his lips curve into a knowing smirk.“Harry is at the top of his class. He’s your best bet at getting familiar with things around here.” She explains.Louis nods, his smirk still very prominent on his face. “Thank you Ms. Archie. I’ll be sure to take advantage of young Harold here.”*Summary: Two stories, eleven years, and the two boys that never stopped loving each other.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, it's me again.
> 
> So I was listening to the song Strawberries & Cigarettes by Troye Sivan and then this happened, so...whoops? If you're not a Troye fan, fair warning there are a few mentions of him throughout the story, sorry not sorry. 
> 
> Thank you to Robin for your betaing and support, you're a rockstar!
> 
> If you're interested, there is a [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/user/1qtphpnzsr5qz27cwkdj6i3w9/playlist/1RjhJHhQb1IizYMrxXzvDh?si=P-vHX3rXSTKHL7QGa-ub7Q) that goes with the entire fic and also includes some of the music mentioned.
> 
> I want to thank [Tanya](http://curleduphl.tumblr.com/) for the beautiful artwork she did for the fic! I love it so much and I hope you do too!
> 
> As always, please don't share this with anyone remotely associated with the band, unless you want me to delete this and go into hiding.
> 
> This is my first long abo fic, so I hope you don't mind the liberties I took with the trope. It's been completely self indulgent which is probably why I've been busting it out in just a matter of weeks. Alright, enjoy!

The cold, bitter air bites at Harry’s cheeks as soon as he steps outside the library doors. He adjusts his scarf around his neck and throws a beanie over his head before pushing his glasses further up his nose.

He’s going to be late for dinner and he can already hear his father’s disappointed tone about learning to keep track of his time. It’s not his fault he got sucked into his reading for Biology. They’re going to dissect frogs next week in class and Harry wants to make sure he’s prepared.

Harry walks up to the curb right in front of the library and checks the time on his phone. He’d messaged his driver, Will, a couple of minutes before he stepped outside so he should be here any minute to pick him up.

Harry stuffs his hands into his wool coat to keep them warm. He’d forgotten his mittens when he left in a haste earlier this afternoon when his father was trying to lecture him about college applications and his plans for the future. It’s not like he’s behind on his applications at all, but discussing anything with his father about his plans _always_ leads to some sort of argument about how Harry needs to be choosing a career that will actually get him somewhere and how studying music composition has no sort of future.

Where the hell is Will? Harry doesn’t want to seem impatient but he really needs to get home. He reaches for his phone to send Will a text asking for an ETA when he’s startled by a strange voice.

“Hey, you got a light?”

Harry jumps, his head snapping over to the person addressing him, nearly dropping his phone in the process. There’s a boy standing a few feet away from him with black eyeliner on and an unlit cigarette hanging from his lips. The boy is all dark colors, wearing a black leather jacket, black skinny jeans with holes at the knees and scuffed up black boots. Harry wonders if the boy is freezing in that getup as it’s the middle of winter. The boy quirks his eyebrow, seeming amused by Harry’s reaction. He snaps his small, dainty fingers painted in black chipped nail polish in front of Harry’s face.  And right. He’d been asked a question.

Harry shoves his glasses against his face needing something to do with his hands.

“Uh..I’m...n-no. Sorry.” He shakes his head and feels his cheeks heating up because any sort of human interaction, especially with strangers, makes Harry feel nervous all the time.

The boy hums in response. His eyes remain on Harry and Harry tries his best not to squirm under his gaze. Harry looks away, not being able to keep eye contact for very long.

When Harry looks at the boy again, he’s smirking, and still staring. He looks like he’s about to say something but the moment gets interrupted when a black Mercedes pulls up. Will, of course.

Harry’s shoulders relax, feeling relieved that his ride has finally arrived. He won’t ever admit that he feels a hint of disappointment the moment with the boy has been interrupted.

Harry doesn’t hesitate to get into the back of the car and Will apologizes profusely for taking so long, going on about how bad traffic is. Harry is grateful that the windows in the car are tinted because it lets him stare at the boy with the dark clothes just a few seconds longer as Will drives away. He thinks he sees the boy’s hand moving in a small wave, or maybe he’s just imagining things.

 

✦

 

Louis notices him while he’s browsing through the periodicals. He’s sitting on the far end corner by himself, heavily immersed in whatever book he’s reading. His curls are loosely framed around his face, and he keeps pushing his black framed glasses up his nose. He’s cute in his quirkiness and the way his eyes light up at whatever he’s reading. He’s got Louis’ attention from the very beginning.

Louis is at a distance, but close enough to keep the boy within his eyesight. When he notices the boy packing up his things, Louis goes to put the magazine back where it belongs. He doesn’t mean to feel like a stalker, he’s just really intrigued by this boy.

“Hey Zee, I’m gonna head out,” he rushes out. His friend waves him off as he continues scanning books and Louis takes his jacket and throws it on before heading out.

He watches as the boy is stands at the curb and he keeps looking down at his phone. He shifts from foot to foot, like he has to pee, or maybe to keep himself warm, who knows. Louis notices the bus stop just a couple of feet from him, so he takes it as his opportunity to get closer without scaring the boy away.

The boy reaches for his phone again, typing out a message before Louis decides to finally say something to get his attention.

“Hey, you got a light?” He doesn’t need a light at all. There’s a pink lighter sitting in his jacket pocket right now as he speaks.

The boy’s eyes fall on Louis, and even though he’s wearing glasses, he can see the emerald glow of his eyes behind the frames. The boy is flustered and his cheeks pinken. Louis wonders if it’s because of him or because they’re standing outside in the middle of winter.

A car pulls up in front of the boy, and the little moment they had going gets interrupted. Louis wanted to ask him for his name, or make a conversation. The boy gets into the car without another word and Louis regrets not talking to him sooner or saying more. As the car drives away, Louis waves at the retreating vehicle, even though he figures it probably goes unnoticed.

Louis sighs, and lights up his cigarette with the pink lighter he pulls from his pocket. The bus arrives as soon as he’s putting it out with his boot, but he doesn’t get in. He waves the driver off and heads back in the direction of where he’d parked his car.

Thankfully there’s actually parking in front of their apartment building for a change, and Louis takes advantage of it. He walks up three flights of stairs, a daily reminder that he doesn’t work out when he runs out of breath at the last step. His front door creaks as he unlocks it, and he has to push the door with his hip using most of his body weight to get the door to lock. He lives with his mother in a quaint two bedroom apartment. It’s just the two of them, it always has been.

Louis looks through the fridge to see if there’s anything he can make for dinner before his mom gets home from her second job in an hour. He can’t cook much, but he helps around as much as he can, especially when his mom has double shifts. He tries to lighten the load for her so that she doesn’t have to worry, she already has enough on her plate.

He grabs some chicken nuggets out of the freezer and preheats the oven, and prepares to boil some water for the mac and cheese. It’s not the ideal dinner, but it will do well enough for them both. They aren’t able to afford anything too fancy.

By the time dinner is ready, Louis hears the front door.

“Hey mom. How was work?” He calls as he turns off the stove top.

“Hey darling, it was fine. How was your day?”

Louis gets the plates ready for them and they sit to eat at the kitchen table. They catch up on their day. He feels like he hasn’t seen his mom all week, so he makes the most of these moments when he gets them with her.

“Are you excited about your first day of school on Monday?” She asks.

Louis’ stomach drops a little. “Yeah. I can’t wait.” On the inside he’s filled with nerves. He doesn’t want to admit to his mom that he’s scared.

Louis has been going to public schools his entire life. To be starting his last semester of Senior year, not only at a new school, but at a private one, well it scares the shit out of him.

After dinner, he bids his mom goodnight, knowing it won’t be long before she goes to bed because she has to be at work at the crack of dawn. He goes into his own room to draw and listen to music. It’s his favorite pastime in the entire world, like a comfort blanket, easing any sort of tension he may have had from the day.

His mind wanders to the quirky boy from the library and he smiles to himself. Louis wonders if they’ll ever cross paths again.

 

✦

 

Dinners at the Styles household are always quiet and boring. Harry doesn’t get why his parents insist he never misses a family dinner when his parents are in town. His father always asks about his day and Harry makes sure to keep it vague to prevent as many lectures from him as possible. He’s jealous of his sister who is away at college and doesn’t have to be here for these things anymore.

Harry isn’t very hungry tonight so he’s mostly just pushing food around with his fork as his father tells his mom about some type of work related thing that Harry doesn’t really care to understand. He basically just waits around until he’s dismissed so he can go to his room.

“Harry?” Crap. Harry had zoned out and has no idea what his father just asked.

“I’m sorry what was that?”

His father looks at him sternly and folds his hands on the table. “I asked if you wanted to accompany me to that fundraiser at the museum next weekend. James Smith’s daughter is going to be there and it would be good if you made nice with her. She has just presented as omega not too long ago.”

Harry wants to roll his eyes but he tries really hard not to. “I haven’t even presented yet. What’s the point?” He sounds annoyed but he doesn’t even care. He’s tired of his father trying to pimp him out to his colleagues. Besides, there’s still a chance that he might end up as a beta after all, just like his sister Gemma. As rare as it is for males to present as omega, Harry almost wishes he would just to piss off his father. Male omegas are looked down upon, and Harry’s dad would probably have a stroke if that happened.

“I’m almost positive you’re going to present as alpha and it’s never too early to start looking at future prospects for a mate.” His dad’s voice shakes Harry out of his thoughts. Right. Still talking about mates and stuff. Typical.

Harry sighs. “Dad, I’m still 17. I’m not even old enough to drink alcohol and you want me to be looking for a potential mate? That’s ludicrous.”

“Watch your tone young man,” his father warns.

Harry huffs out a frustrated breath. “I’m done talking about this.” He drops his fork which makes a loud noise and echoes throughout the dining room. He stands up abruptly, “Excuse me.” He leaves the room without another word.

Harry bursts through his bedroom door and shuts it behind him, leaning against it and letting his head hit the wood. He’s tired of being treated like he has no say in his life choices, but his father will never understand.

After he’s calmed down a bit, he takes off his sweater vest and button down shirt, folding them neatly and placing them in a pile for their housekeeper. He throws on an old worn out Rolling Stones t-shirt as a sort of rebellion against his dad, knowing how much he hates that Harry listens to that type of music.

After getting into some sweatpants, Harry looks through his vinyl collection trying to decide what he’s in the mood to listen to. He settles on Troye Sivan’s Blue Neighbourhood that he’s recently been obsessed with. Troye is one of the very few openly male omegas out there, and Harry truly admires him for his bravery. After putting the record on, Harry sits at his desk to check on his different social media sites. There isn’t much going on, which is typical for a weekend and people seem to still be winding down from the holidays.

Harry can’t wait for his school week to start up again on Monday. He isn’t at the top of his class just breezing by like some of his other classmates seem to do.

Harry’s mind wanders to the boy from earlier today. He’s curious about him. About his name, the things he likes to do, or what kind of music he likes. He wants to know what he was going to say to Harry or if he was even going to say anything at all. The boy looked about Harry’s age, maybe a bit older. He thinks about his eyeliner, and the chipped nail polish on his fingers and the glimpse of a nose ring he might have caught as well.

Harry brings himself back to the present, and decides to do a bit of sketching in bed before settling in for the night. If he happens to draw the boy with the all black and the nose ring, nobody has to know.

-

Monday arrives like a long lost friend. When Harry’s alarm blares, he jumps out of bed and gets started on his morning routine.

He showers, brushes his teeth, flosses, dresses in his school uniform, and makes sure he has everything he needs in his backpack before he exits his bedroom door and makes his way to the dining room for breakfast.

Breakfast is already laid out on the table for him. A wide range of fruit, eggs, toast and orange juice are neatly organized on the table along with plates for him to help himself. His parents are usually out of the house by the time Harry comes down for breakfast, which he’s relieved by. He still isn’t in the mood to see his dad yet after yesterday’s little incident. He takes a couple of bites of eggs and toast before taking a banana to go. As soon as he stands up from his chair, their housekeeper Celia, has a travel mug ready and waiting filled with Harry’s favorite coffee brew.

“Thanks Celia. Have a good day!” Harry calls out.

“You too, Mr. Styles.”

Will drives him to school as usual, and the closer he gets to school the more Harry’s stomach fills with butterflies. He knows it’s not a normal reaction to have about going to school, but Harry is just glad to be going back at all. The last two weeks have felt eternal, especially with his parents being around every day. They may not be home very often, but they do make it a point to be home for the holidays, much to Harry’s anonyance.

Will pulls up to the front of the school. “We’re here, Harry.”

Harry pulls the strap to his backpack over his shoulder, adjusting his glasses on his nose.

“Thanks Will. I’ll call you when I’m almost ready. I’m gonna stay after school to study,” Harry explains before opening the back passenger door.

“Have a good day, Harry.” Will calls out after him, and Harry waves as the man drives away.

Harry stands in front of his school building. It’s crazy to think that he has only one more semester left before he graduates and gets to leave this place for good to go to college. It feels like the time has flown by so fast.

“Harry!” He hears his best friend before he sees him and he grins. He has really missed that ball of sunshine.

“Niall!” Niall appears among a crowd of students making their way into the building. His best friend has his arms wide open as he crashes into him.

“I missed you buddy! How was your Christmas vacation?” They walk into the building together, Niall’s arm still wrapped around Harry’s shoulder as he tells him about his pretty uneventful holiday.

“What about you? How as yours? You look like you’ve been spending some time in the sun,” Harry points out.

Niall subconsciously runs a hand over his face and chuckles. “Oh yeah. We went to Hawaii for the holidays. Got one of the worst sunburns of my life! I’m just glad I’m not coming back to school looking like a lobster,” he tells Harry.

Harry laughs, “Do you have pictures? I need to see this for myself.”

Before Harry even finishes asking, Niall already has his phone out showing him the evidence.

“Oh God. That looks really painful.” Harry tells him as they stop in front of their lockers. Harry and Niall lucked out that they’re in the same home room, which led to them having lockers just a few feet away from each other. Especially since they don’t have any classes together this year, but they thankfully do share the same lunch period.

“It was, I could barely move without whining in pain. It was terrible.”

They gather the books they need for their first class. “Well, I’ll see you at lunch?”

Niall nods, shutting his locker. “Yep! See you Haz!”

With that, they part ways.

Harry’s first class is English, then Geometry and followed by Physics. He feels good being back to his daily routine. He stops by his locker in between classes before checking in at homeroom, then continuing on to the rest of his classes before lunch.

Around Biology class, Harry starts to hear a few murmurs among his classmates here and there. At first he doesn’t pay much attention to them being too focused on the teacher’s lesson. It isn’t until they are paired up for lab that his partner, Kyle fills Harry in on what’s going on.

“Have you met the new guy?” Kyle asks as they place their lab goggles on. Harry always struggles getting them on right with his glasses.

Harry pauses his movements and scrunches his eyebrows. “What new guy?”

“There’s a transfer student. I heard he just got out of prison for killing his dad with his bare hands,” Kyle whispers, his hand covering part of his mouth so they won’t get caught by their teacher.

Harry scoffs, “How do you even know that?”

Kyle shrugs, “My friend Ben has Chemistry with him. Said he heard the guy telling someone that.”

Harry shakes his head.

“It’s true,” Kyle insists. “He even has tattoos on his arms. Probably got them in prison.”

Harry tries his hardest not to snort. People are ridiculous with the rumors in this school. He’s still waiting to see if Marcy Benton is ever going to give birth to the imaginary child she was supposedly carrying at the beginning of the school year. She still has no sign of having a baby in her belly since she’s still at the top of the pyramid for the cheerleading squad. Pregnancy rumors are the most common in his school, especially for Harry’s class year when some girls begin presenting as omegas.

The murmurs don’t cease though. If anything they only increase. By the time it’s finally time for lunch, Harry walks into the cafeteria and people keep looking at every person who walks through the front doors, probably waiting to see if they can catch sight of this new guy. Harry rolls his eyes.

He finds Niall already waiting for him at their usual table after he gets his food. Of course Niall is already halfway through his sandwich, always too impatient to wait for Harry. Niall presented as alpha just a few months ago, and with that came a major increase in appetite since alphas’ metabolism shoots through the roof. Though, Niall always stuffed his face with food, even before he presented.

Before Harry even gets a word out, Niall is already interrupting the silence between them.

“Did you see the new guy?”

“Oh God, you too? It’s all everyone has been talking about for the past two hours.” Harry complains, tearing into his turkey sandwich.

“I had English with him. He’s very intimidating, man.” Niall tells him.

Harry quirks his eyebrow, taking a bite of his chips. “Intimidating how exactly?”

“I don’t know. Like he’s witnessed a murder or something. He sneers at anyone who even looks at him,” Niall says.

“I’m sure he’s just nervous. It’s his first day in a new school. You all need to give him a break,” Harry says.

“He sure didn’t look nervous,” Niall mutters, before they finally drop the subject and continue eating their lunch.

Harry’s afternoon classes are his favorite time of the day. He has orchestra right after lunch, and as much practice as he got during the break, it still feels great to play with everyone else. Being the violin first chair can be a bit nerve wracking at times, but more often than not, Harry feels happiest when he’s playing his violin.

They had just performed a Christmas concert before the holiday break, and now they’re preparing for the Spring concert that they’re having in a few months. Mr. Schmidt hands out the music they will be playing, and they go over it in their own sections before performing it all together towards the end of the class period. They obviously have a lot of work to do, but it’s going to turn out great, Harry can’t wait.

Harry’s last class of the day is art, which is a good way to wind down from the events of today. As soon as he walks into the classroom, he notices that his teacher, Ms. Archie, talking to someone. Harry can’t really tell who it is, as their back is facing him, so he just shrugs it off and finds his assigned seat. As he’s getting his sketchbook and pencils out, Ms. Archie calls Harry’s attention.

“Oh Harry, great you’re here,” Ms. Archie says.

At that, Harry looks up and immediately freezes. Next to Ms. Archie stands the boy from just the other day. The boy with the leather jacket and chipped black nails, that might or might not be sketched in the very book Harry has just placed on the table in front of him. The leather jacket is missing today, probably because they aren’t allowed as part of their required uniform attire, but Harry can still see the fading black nail polish on his nails, and eyeliner around his eyes. Harry’s mouth goes a little dry. This boy is so intriguing to him.

“Ye-yes, Ms. Archie?” Harry tries to play it cool, but he’s almost positive that his cheeks are burning red, and he’s relieved neither of them can tell how fast his heart is beating in his chest.

The boy seems to also recognize Harry, because his lips curve into a knowing smirk.

“This is Louis Tomlinson. He’s just transferred here, and I’d like for him to sit next to you.” She turns to Louis, “Harry is at the top of his class. He’s your best bet at getting familiar with things around here.” She explains.

Louis nods, his smirk still very prominent on his face. “Thank you Ms. Archie. I’ll be sure to take advantage of young Harold here.”

Harry’s ears ring and he feels like his heart is going to beat out of his chest. Their eyes meet, and Harry looks away after just a second, still unable to hold his gaze for too long.

An unaware Ms. Archie says, “Good. I’ll leave you two to it. Class will begin in a couple of minutes. Get yourselves acquainted.”

Without another word, Louis takes the seat next to Harry.

He doesn’t know what to do with his hands so he just sets them protectively over his sketchbook and taps his fingers on the cover, looking anywhere but at Louis. He can feel Louis’ stare as it burns through him, but Harry feels like he needs a moment to gain his bearings so that he doesn’t act like a complete fool in front of the new guy.

“Are you always this fidgety?” Louis asks. His voice is soft but amused.

Harry’s head turns slowly to finally look back at him and what he sees is unexpected. Although Louis seems to have a rough exterior, Harry can see a bit of softness in his stare. It helps ease Harry’s nerves, and he finally gets a hold of himself before chuckling.

“Actually, I am.” Harry admits looking down at his hands, the shaking ceasing.

“We’ll have to do something to get you more out of your shell,” Louis mutters before Ms. Archie calls the classroom’s attention once everyone has settled into their seats. Harry wonders what Louis means by that, but can’t dwell on it because class has begun.

“Before we start our lesson for today, I want to talk about your final project. This project counts for 30% of your grade, so I want to give you plenty of time to work on it before it’s due in May.” Harry takes his iPad out and starts taking notes. He can see Louis on the corner of his eye jotting stuff down in a notebook.

“You’ll be working with a partner on this, but the grades will be given individually. I want you to create something that represents your partner. It can be a portrait, or it can be anything that you feel depicts them, be as creative as you can. It can be anything from an oil painting, to a pencil sketch, a sculpture, or a watercolor painting. Again, be creative. Spend some time with your partner, get to know them so you can start creating. I will be checking in periodically on your progress and you’ll need to show me your ideas.

“I’ll be pairing you up to make you work with someone you need to get to know.” Ms. Archie starts naming off the different pairs to make sure everyone understands who they’re working with. “Harry Styles, you’ll be working with Louis Tomlinson.”

All eyes fall on them when she says that. The eyes looking at Harry look like they feel sorry for him for being stuck with Louis. Some of them are probably already praying for his soul thinking Harry won’t be making it out of this project alive. Harry wants to roll his eyes.

Louis leans in to Harry’s ear to whisper, “I look forward to working with you Harry Styles.” His breath sends shivers down Harry’s spine. And not in a frightening way like it might for anyone else. It’s safe to say that Harry finds it difficult to concentrate for the rest of the class.

Once class is dismissed, Harry feels like he can finally breathe again. He catches Louis staring at him a few times, which makes it difficult for Harry to focus on Ms. Archie’s lecture about Monet. Not to mention all the staring their table keeps getting because of Louis. Louis seems unbothered by it all, almost like he didn’t even notice it. But for Harry it feels like being under a microscope, not being used to having that much attention on him.

On their way out of the classroom Harry wants to get Louis’ attention to ask him about potential times to meet, but before he’s able to do that, Louis is nowhere to be found. Harry tries not to feel frustrated, because he likes to be ahead of any assignment he’s given and this already sets him back a little bit. He huffs out a breath and turns to find Niall over by their lockers.

 

✦

 

It starts off as a joke, but apparently the people in this school can’t read sarcasm. By lunchtime, Louis feels like everyone is talking about him. People won’t stop staring, and he needs a breather, so he decides to go off campus for lunch.

He doesn’t go far, just to the McDonald’s nearby and orders something from the Dollar Menu. He texts Zayn and tells him what has happened. He isn’t much help, because all he gets in return is a crying laughing emoji, so he responds with a middle finger one.

Louis returns to school just in time for his English class to start.

Art class is the one Louis has been looking forward to all day, and he’s glad that he gets to end his first day on a good note. He makes sure to arrive early, and introduces himself to the teacher, Ms. Archie.

They talk for a bit before something catches her attention.

“Oh Harry, great you’re here,” she says.

Louis turns around to see who she’s talking to. It’s the quirky boy from the library.

Louis can’t help his grin. As soon as Harry meets eyes with Louis and seems to recognize him, he gets all flustered again. This is gonna be fun. All the worries and troubles Louis had regarding this new school and his first day melt away. He hopes that getting to be in the same class as Harry makes it all worth it.

 

✦

 

Harry doesn’t want to turn eighteen.

As soon as he had turned thirteen, his father hasn’t stopped talking about when he presents as alpha and all the types of things he expects Harry to do once he does. He also hasn’t stopped trying to find him potential mates, which is annoying as hell. Turning eighteen, officially coming of age in their society means also finding out what your true gender is. Harry would love to hold off on knowing as long as possible. He knows his dad will only get worse when he does, and even more so if he happens to present as omega.

His birthday ends up being the topic of conversation during dinner tonight and Harry would rather talk about anything else. His parents are planning on throwing him a huge coming of age party that he wants nothing to do with, but they aren’t letting him have any say in it. He was able to compromise that he could invite whoever he wants. His parents will most likely invite people Harry doesn’t even know, and probably potential mates his father has lined up for him. Since his birthday is just around the corner, his mom wants to finalize the invitations. He doesn’t mention that Niall is probably the only person he’s going to invite from his school because he doesn’t need something else for his father to lecture him about. Harry has a feeling his father thinks he’s one of the most popular kids in school just because their family is one of the wealthiest in the city, but he couldn’t be more wrong.

After dinner, Harry finishes the homework he had started when he got home and then settles for some sketching while listening to Tchaikovsky’s “The Seasons”.

Art comes as a close second, next to music, for one of Harry’s favorite things. Part of him loves it because his father scoffs at it, but the rest of him is just absolutely in love with the arts and everything it represents. Harry dreams of one day becoming a famous composer. Music is his happy place, and whenever he’s feeling nervous or anxious, he thinks of his favorite tune in his mind to help him calm down.

His mind wanders to Louis again. Louis is a very fitting name for him, and Harry might have sounded out the name on his lips a couple of times in private just to hear how it sounds. He wonders how Louis ended up transferring schools.

Is he from this area or did he move from a different state? Maybe a different country? There’s no way Harry believes Louis just got out of prison. He doubts any ex cons would be allowed to register at their school, no matter how liberal they claim to be.

Louis is definitely smart, because you need a high IQ to even be considered as a student at his school. Harry remembers because their family friend’s son had been rejected due to him not meeting those requirements. As rebellious as Louis may look, Harry noticed that he was paying attention to Ms. Archie’s lesson and making many notes as he listened. He might have only had a pencil and paper, but he was still pretty thorough.

Harry makes a mental note to talk to Louis about their art project. He wants to at least do an initial meeting so they can start getting some ideas down. He doesn’t think he’ll have a problem with coming up with something good for his project.

-

The next day feels like it’s dragging. Harry goes to his classes, each one feeling longer than the last. He finds himself checking the clock more often than not. He doesn’t see Louis anywhere between classes, but the rumors about him continue to be the talk of the school.

The bell rings and it’s finally time for lunch. Harry walks to his locker to put his books away and it doesn’t surprise him that Niall isn’t there because he’s most likely already in line to get his food.

When he closes his locker, he jumps when he sees Louis leaning against the neighboring locker. His arms are crossed against his chest and Harry notices that his nails have gotten a fresh coat of nail polish. He briefly pictures Louis painting his nails.

“Hey Harold. What you up to?” Louis finally speaks up.

Harry adjusts his glasses before shifting his gaze to Louis. “I’ve got lunch.”

Louis grins like he’s in on a secret and Harry wants to know what it is. He almost pouts.

Louis stands up straight. “Get your jacket. We’re going on an adventure. Come on.”

Louis turns around and starts walking away without another word and Harry stares dumbfoundead after him before he shakes himself out of it. He opens his locker to grab his coat before running to catch up with Louis.

They walk to the parking lot and Harry is dying to ask where they’re going but he resists the urge for now. They stop in front of a really old Pontiac Firebird and Louis tells him to get in, which he obliges. The car is black, with all black interior. Harry finds that it’s very fitting for Louis.

As the car roars to life and the radio booms through the speakers, Harry makes sure to text Niall and let him know he won’t be making it to lunch. He makes up an excuse, telling him that he needs to do research for his art project, which technically isn’t a lie.

The Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil” begins to play on the radio and Harry instinctively begins bobbing his head and tapping his thighs to the beat of the music.

“You like them?” Louis’ voice brings Harry back and he self consciously stops his movements.

“Love them.”

Louis nods, a small smile forming on his lips as he continues to drive.

“So are you gonna tell me where we’re going?” Harry finally asks.

Louis glances at him and smiles wider. “Relax Harold. We’re just going to lunch. Figured we oughta start thinking about our project and I’m hungry, so.”

Louis pulls into the Portillo’s drive through and someone takes their orders. He insists they get a slice of their chocolate cake and Harry relents even though he doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth. They get their food and are back on the road.

They choose to eat in the car since the weather is still freezing and neither of them wants to go into the school yet.

“I would have wanted to eat in the restaurant but they don’t give us much of a lunch break here and I’m assuming you aren’t much of a class cutter either.” Louis says before taking a bite of his Italian sandwich.

Harry huffs out a laugh, “No not really.”

They eat in companionable silence for a few minutes. Harry hasn’t had Portillo’s in ages and he tries not to scarf down his food like some animal in front of Louis.

“So tell me something about you, Harold.” Louis begins after finishing his sandwich. He gives Harry a fork and takes out the slice of cake.

“Um. Well my name is Harry not Harold.” He tells him.

Louis pauses his movements. “Wait so your name isn’t short for Harold?” He asks.

Harry shakes his head and takes a piece of the chocolate cake. It melts in his mouth as soon as it touches his tongue. It’s one of the most delicious things he’s ever had.

“Nope. Just Harry.”

Louis hums. “Is it okay if I still call you Harold?”

And Harry isn’t sure what to make of the fact that Louis wants to give him a nickname.

Harry eventually just shrugs. “Sure. What about you?”

Louis swallows the food in his mouth before responding. “My name is Louis and it isn’t short for anything.”

They both laugh.

“In all seriousness. I’ll just set the record straight that I haven’t killed anyone and I’ve never been to prison. I tell one person as a joke, and suddenly people are taking it seriously.” Louis laughs again.

“I knew it. I figured it was just a rumor but not much happens in this school so anything new and exciting can get taken way out of hand.” Harry explains.

“Are you saying I’m exciting, Harold?” Louis asks in a playful tone. His hand comes up to his chest and he’s grinning from ear to ear.

Harry’s eyes go wide as he realizes his mistake. His cheeks flush instantly. “I mean...I just...I meant..”

Louis giggles, “Relax. I was just kidding.” His hand comes up to rest on Harry’s arm and it only seems to make him flush even more.

Harry laughs nervously even though he kind of wants the earth to swallow him whole but he often feels that way at least once a day.

“Well Harold, this was fun. But unfortunately, we should start heading inside. The bell is gonna ring soon and we don’t wanna be late to class. Can’t start making bad impressions on my second day. What am I saying, it’s too late isn’t it?” Louis nudges his elbow at Harry and they both laugh again as they start walking back to the school building.

Louis walks Harry back to his locker before going on his own way. Harry can’t help the smile on his face as he watches Louis walk away.

-

“Harry, what’s the word on Northwestern?” His father inquires during dinner that evening.

Harry freezes. Shit. He was hoping to avoid this conversation as much as possible and now it looks like it’s time to face the music.

He puts down his spoon from the soup he was enjoying, now turning into acid at the bottom of his stomach.

“I...um. I didn’t apply to Northwestern,” he says gently, prepared for the storm that’s coming.

Mr. Styles isn’t a man of many emotions, but right now his face is filled with rage. “What did you say?”

“I said I didn’t apply to Northwestern. I want to go to Yale.” Harry tries his best to keep his voice from wavering. He isn’t backing down from this.

“Yale? But Northwestern has one of the best Business programs in the country. Why on earth would you apply to Yale?” He spits the name of Harry’s college of choice with disgust, making Harry flinch.

“I don’t want to study Business. We’ve been over this already. I want to study music,” Harry counters.

Mr. Styles shakes his head. “No. That’s not happening. I’ll make a call. You’re going to Northwestern.”

“Why not?” Harry’s voice is high now. He is losing his resolve by the second. “It’s what I want to do with my life. Shouldn’t I do what I love?”

“Music isn’t going to get you anywhere, son. But a Business degree can take you to big places. You can even take over from me one day,” his father explains.

And there it is.

Harry scoffs. “I don’t want to take over for you, father. I want nothing to do with the family business. I want to do my own thing. It isn’t fair that you want to make decisions for me!” His hand makes a fist and it slams against the table.

“Watch your tone with me!”

“No. I’m tired of you trying to set me up with a possible mate. And I’m tired of you trying to force a career on me that I don’t want!” Harry jumps up from his seat and turns to leave. He can hear his father calling after him, but he ignores it. He just runs.

Before he knows it, Harry realizes that he’s outside. He isn’t sure how long he’s been running for, but his calves burn and there’s sweat dripping down his forehead. The sun is about to set, and when Harry looks around he realizes that he isn’t too far from his school. He keeps walking, thankful that he at least has a sweater on because it’s pretty damn cold outside. He knows that he’s going to have to find a temporary refuge until he calms down.

About a couple of blocks down from his school he stumbles upon a coffeeshop like a man in a desert finding a stream of water. His shoulders relax and he walks through the front doors being instantly welcomed by the warmth of the heat inside, his glasses fogging up instantly.

Harry finds a seat near the back of the shop, letting himself fall onto one of the cushioned chairs. His throat and eyes burn with unshed tears and he’s filled with anger. Anger over the way his father treats him like he’s a child that can’t make his own decisions. Anger over his father not being willing to even consider what Harry wants to do with his life after high school. He puts his head in his hands and he wants to scream, but then he remembers that he’s indoors and there’s people around so he just closes his eyes and takes slow, deep breaths.

After a moment, Harry feels a presence near him so he finally manages to open his eyes again and he’s met with blue eyes encircled in charcoal eyeliner. Louis extends his hand, holding a cup out for him. Harry takes it without a word and takes a sip.

Peppermint hot chocolate. One of Harry’s favorites.

Harry takes another gulp. “Thanks. It’s my favorite drink.”

Louis shrugs. “There was a customer that ordered it, but after he tasted it said he didn’t want it so I didn’t want it to go to waste.”

Harry’s eyes widen and he cringes, about to spit his drink out before Louis stops him.

“I’m kidding! I’m kidding!” Louis’ eyes crinkle at the corners now and he’s giggling like a little kid. “God you should see your face!”

And okay. Louis got him good. Harry can’t help but laugh too.

“That was mean,” he tells him after they’ve both settled down.

Louis smirks, “You seemed like you needed a laugh. So…”

Harry can feel his cheeks pinken. “I did. Thank you.”

They sit in silence for a few moments before Harry asks, “So...you work here?”

Louis nods. “Yeah. Some of us got bills to pay,” he teases.

“Heyyy.”

Louis chuckles again. Harry finds that he really enjoys seeing him laugh and smile. It’s been one of his favorite things about him so far.

Louis stands up. “Well, my break is over so I should head back. You gonna be alright?”

Harry looks up at Louis from his seat, smiling. “Yeah. Yeah, I think so.”

“Okay. Good. See you around, Harold.” And with that, Louis is turning around and heading behind the counter to go back to work.

Harry hangs around for a while longer. He finishes his hot chocolate and disposes of it. He checks his phone and he has multiple missed calls from his dad, but there’s no way he’s calling him back. Harry still isn’t ready to get back to their conversation. He doesn’t think he’ll ever be.

He decides to start making his way back home, realizing that the sun has long ago set. He sends Will a text message asking if he can get picked up, giving him his current location. Before leaving the coffeeshop, Harry makes sure to leave a tip in the jar located on the counter.

When Louis sees him he winks, and Harry blushes all over again. This boy does something to Harry that he doesn’t quite understand, but he’s willing to take the time to figure it out.

-

Harry is relieved to find that his father isn’t around when he returns home. Thankfully he has a business trip he’s leaving for first thing in the morning, so he won’t have to deal with him for at least a week.

The next morning he wakes up and he feels like a weight is temporarily off his shoulders without the presence of his dad around the house.

School serves as a great distraction for him. He always feels lighter when he’s around Niall who always serves some humor and banter, making him grateful to have such a good friend.

He can’t help the way that he always tries to look for Louis at the corner of his eye every time he’s in the hallways, but again he can’t seem to catch a glimpse of the boy. Harry can’t say he isn’t disappointed that Louis doesn’t show up to his locker right before lunch this time around.

“So anything interesting happening in any of your classes?” Niall asks in the middle of their lunch.

Harry stabs a piece of chicken from his salad with his fork before taking a bite of it.

“Not really. Though I did get paired up with Louis for our final art project,” Harry comments.

Niall’s eyebrows crinkle, “Louis...wait! You mean the new guy?” He whisper shouts, looking around to make sure no one hears them. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Harry shrugs, “I’m telling you now, aren’t I?”

Niall rolls his eyes. “You know what I mean! So what’s he like? Did you talk to him?”

Now it’s Harry’s turn to roll his eyes. “He’s a normal guy just like the rest of us, Niall. There’s nothing to tell really. You know all that stuff people are talking about are just rumors, right?”

He makes a conscious decision not to tell Niall about their lunch outing or the moment they had at the coffee shop. For now, he wants to keep those little moments to himself, like he wants to be the only one who gets to witness these sides of Louis. It may sound silly, but it makes Harry feel like it’s a special thing between the two of them.

“Really? That’s all you got?” Niall asks.

Harry shrugs his shoulders. “Sorry.” Though he really isn’t.

When Harry arrives to his art class later in the afternoon, he isn’t the first one there for a change. Louis is sitting at their table and hasn’t noticed Harry yet. He’s looking down at his sketchpad, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Harry approaches the table quietly, not wanting to interrupt Louis’ inspiration. As he gets closer he gets a better view of what he’s working on.

Louis is shading a part of an atomic heart that is made out of parts of a clock. On the left side of the heart is the face of the clock, with roman numeral numbers, pointing to the time. The drawing has so much intricate detail, it bears no comparison to Harry’s simple sketches that he’s done. What Louis is creating is wonderful, something beyond Harry’s realm.

“That’s amazing, Lou.”

Louis starts as soon as Harry speaks, and he immediately feels terrible for causing it. But then he sees Louis’ face, and how his cheeks are a bit rosier than they were when he’d first walked in, and he doesn’t feel so bad after all.

“Geez Harold. What are you, a ninja?” Louis asks putting his hand over his chest.

“Sorry,” Harry says sheepishly.

Class begins before they can continue any sort of conversation. Harry is normally more than happy to have class begin, has always been eager to learn. But right now, he wishes that he had more time to talk to Louis, to ask if he’d like to meet up again sometime to work on their project.

Harry’s eyes wander several times to Louis, and he almost gets caught doing it once, but is able to look away immediately. He shakes himself out of his thoughts of Louis and tries to focus on Ms. Archie and today’s lesson.

 

✦

 

It’s been a long week for Louis and it’s only Wednesday.

The only thing— more like the only person— that has made any of this any bearable, is Harry. Louis can’t explain it, but there’s something about the quirky boy with the glasses that makes his heart beat faster than normal. Louis can feel Harry’s eyes on him, and he thinks he’s being subtle, but he really isn’t. He’s trying his best not to smile and pretend that he’s paying attention to Ms. Archie’s lesson about paintings from the impressionist movement.

Before he knows it the bell is ringing and everyone around them is gathering their things. Thankfully, it’s Louis’ last class of the day.

“Lou?” Louis closes his eyes for a moment revelling in the new nickname Harry has for him. It’s cute as hell if he does say so himself.

He turns to look at Harry. “Yes?”

Harry is standing awkwardly, holding his books against his chest with pinkened cheeks. He pushes his index finger against his glasses and up the bridge of his nose.

“Um. I was wondering if you wanted to meet up after school so we could discuss our art project?” He asks, voice wobbly.

Harry stands frozen, like he’s holding his breath just waiting for Louis to answer. Louis decides to put the poor guy out of his misery.

“Sure. Yeah. I could do that.” Louis answers.

Harry lets out a breath, sounding almost relieved at that. He smiles and nods, “Okay. Okay. How about we meet at my place, around six?”

Louis grins, “Give me your hand,” he instructs.

Harry’s brows furrow in silent question, but obliges pretty easily. Louis pulls out a Sharpie out of his pocket and writes out his phone number on Harry’s palm.

“Text me your address and I’ll see you at six. Okay, Harold?” He clicks the marker closed and sticks it back in his pocket.

Harry stares at his palm completely dumbfounded before he seems to realize that Louis just asked him a question so he nods. “See you then,” he mumbles before he scurries out of the classroom.

Louis heads to his locker to put some things away and prepare his messenger bag with things he will need for homework. To kill some time before he’s due at Harry’s house, Louis stops by his job to hang out for a bit. He texts his mom to let her know where he’ll be, knowing she probably won’t see it until her next break. He receives a text from an unknown number, and when Louis opens it he sees that it’s Harry with his address. His eyes widen a bit as he realizes that Harry lives in the fancy part of town where only people who are really well off live. It’s not like Louis didn’t know that because almost everyone in his school come from wealthy families.

Everyone but Louis that is.

Louis isn’t embarrassed or ashamed. He likes working hard for what he wants, but he does sometimes wish that his mom didn’t have to work two jobs just to make ends meet. That’s why Louis helps as much as he can by working at the coffee shop and giving his mom every paycheck he earns. He got lucky that because of his high IQ, he was able to obtain a grant to pay for the tuition for him to complete his Senior year of school. Louis would have been okay with graduating from his old school, but he wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to add a school like this on his transcript to better his chances to get into a good university.

The bell dings when someone new enters the coffee shop and it brings Louis back to the present. He checks the time and sees it’s almost time to meet with Harry, so he grabs his things and starts to make his way over. When he pulls up to the house his GPS is telling him is his final destination, he can’t help but gawk at the sight before him.

Louis was expecting a big house, but this house is ginormous. The driveway alone is probably longer than Louis’ street. There’s a two car garage on the right side, and a small fountain on the left side. The house itself looks like a freaking castle. It’s the kind of house Louis has ever only seen in movies. He stops to admire it for a few moments, taking it all in. The bricks, the windows, the view. It’s breathtaking.

With a sigh, Louis finally gets to the front door and rings the doorbell. It doesn’t take long at all before he’s greeted by woman with warm brown eyes and olive toned skin.

“Hi, I’m here to see Harry?” Louis greets.

The woman smiles like she’s expecting him and opens the door for him. “Please come in.”

Louis thanks her and follows her into the house. If Louis thought the house from the outside was beautiful, the inside it just...he doesn’t really have any words. He feels a little self conscious in his ratty t-shirt and torn up jeans he’d changed into after school. Maybe he should have stayed in his uniform and he’d feel less out of place here. They stop right in front of a huge staircase and the woman points to it.

“Mr. Styles’ room is up the stairs, second door on the right.” She tells him.

Louis nods. “Thank you very much,” he says before climbing up the steps.

When Louis gets to the last step, there’s a faint sound playing in the distance. It’s a song Louis doesn’t recognize. The closer he gets to Harry’s room, the louder the melody gets. He recognizes that it’s a violin playing the lovely tune, and when he gets to Harry’s room the door is parted open enough that Louis can see him.

Harry has the violin resting between his shoulder and chin, and he has his eyes closed as he plays with practiced ease. His wrist holds the bow lightly like he’s holding a feather, moving it over the strings so fast, Louis has trouble keeping his eyes focused. He feels entranced by Harry’s movements and the music, and he doesn’t want to disrupt this moment, so he waits by the doorway until Harry finishes the song.

When Harry plays the last note, everything goes silent and when he flutters his eyes open, they land on Louis. Harry’s cheeks flush.

“Lou, hey.” He fidgets with his glasses before hurrying to store his violin back in its case. “Come in. Sorry, I lost track of time.”

Louis raises his hands up. “Don’t stop on my account. I loved hearing you play.”

Louis wonders how many times he can make Harry blush in one day. He should start keeping count.

“What was that? Mozart? Tchaikovsky?” Louis really doesn’t have much clue about classical music, but he doesn’t want Harry to know that.

Harry looks down at his feet and scratches the back of his head. “Actually. It’s mine. I wrote it.”

Louis is speechless. “You...you wrote that?”

Harry nods slowly, still not looking directly at Louis.

“Will you play more for me?” The words come out of Louis’ mouth before he even thinks about it.

Harry’s head snaps up, his green eyes hiding behind his black rimmed glasses are wide and his pink, plump lips are parted open. He takes his bottom lip between his teeth before he nods again.

“Yeah, sure.”

Harry plays the entire thing from beginning to end, while Louis sits on Harry’s bed trying to keep his mouth closed. The way Harry holds the violin, treating it so delicately. The way his fingers move so fluidly between the strings without even looking, having it all memorized, becoming one with the music. Louis is blown away.

Louis claps when Harry plays the last note. Harry’s smile is so big, he has dimples decorating his cheeks, making him even more attractive.

It’s safe to say they don’t get much done on their projects, but Louis isn’t too concerned because they still have plenty of time. Louis likes that he’s getting to know Harry through this assignment. It’s not that he wouldn’t try to get to know him either way, but the project makes it a lot easier.

They spend most of their evening talking about music, and Harry shows Louis his all time favorite classical songs.

“Is this what you want to study when you go to college?” Louis asks.

There’s a sort of dark cloud that comes over Harry. Louis can see it in the way that Harry’s face falls for a split second before he recovers.

“Yeah. I’ve applied to Yale’s music program, but I don’t know if I’ll get it. It’s pretty competitive.” Harry shrugs.

“They’re idiots if they don’t let you in, Haz.” The nickname slips out out Louis’ lips and he can’t take it back. Harry blushes.

“Thanks.” There’s a few moments of silence between them before Harry breaks it again. “Would you like to stay over for dinner? Celia always makes a ton of extra food even when my parents are out of town.”

“I’d love to.”

Harry grins, his dimples coming back in full force. “Okay. Okay, let me tell Celia.” He stalks out of the room before Louis can respond.

Louis isn’t quite sure what to do, so he just stands in the middle of Harry’s room looking around. Harry’s room is as big as Louis’ apartment. There’s a four post bed sitting against one wall, a desk on the other. He has a window nook that contains a shelf of books underneath it. Louis can picture Harry settling down to read one of those books on a rainy day. There’s posters and artwork decorating the walls. Louis’ eyes catch sight of a record player sitting on a corner. He walks over to it to get a closer look. The wall right next to it has shelves and shelves of any and every vinyl you can think of. Louis gasps. He scans as many records as he can. It looks like Harry has them organized by genre and alphabetical order.

When Harry returns, Louis is still lost in the vast collection.

“Find anything you like?” Harry asks.

Louis looks up and smiles. “Yes.”

“Pick something and we’ll play it. Celia is going to bring dinner over so we can get some work done at least.”

Louis turns back to the shelves before finally picking a record. He pulls it out and carefully hands it over to Harry.

Harry takes the vinyl and examines it. “Bon Iver, great choice.” He turns to place the record on the player and the music begins to croon softly.

Celia arrives with their dinner shortly after and they settle on the floor with the food laid out between them. They eat their cheeseburgers and fries in silence while Bon Iver’s self titled album plays in the background. It doesn’t feel awkward, in fact, Louis feels comfortable just sitting here and eating across from Harry. He’s never felt this comfortable so fast in front of someone he’s just met, and it scares him a little. But Louis shoves those thoughts aside and continues to enjoy his dinner, relieved that he doesn’t have to worry about making anything to eat when he gets home.

Harry turns the record over to the other side and sets their leftovers aside. Louis lays down on the floor, hand on his belly, content.

“God Haz, dinner was delicious.”

Harry lays parallel to Louis, his head on the opposite side next to Louis’ feet. “Celia is the best cook.”

“Wash” plays and they lay there, the music taking over Louis’ thoughts. He closes his eyes and takes it all in. Harry is just as quiet, like an unspoken agreement between.

When the record ends, they don’t move. They just continue to lay there in companionable silence.

“What do you want to after high school?” Harry’s voice breaks the quiet they were in, but it’s soft, like he doesn’t want to ruin the ambiance.

Louis considers Harry’s question. It’s not like he’s never thought about it before. In fact, currently, it’s all he thinks about. As soon as Senior year started, he’s been feeling the weight of that question, getting heavier and heavier the more time passes. He is also yet to present since he came of age in December, but Louis isn’t really worried about that. He’s almost positive he’ll be presenting as beta just like his mother.

Louis lets out a long sigh. “I’m not sure, to be honest.”

He can hear Harry shift to his side, so Louis does the same, leaning his head on his hand and resting his elbow on the floor.

“That’s okay, you know?” Harry tells him. “The first couple of years of college are gen ed courses anyway. It gives people plenty of time to figure out what they want to do.”

“Yeah,” Louis says, “Yeah..I guess you’re right.”

Louis’ phone goes off and he jumps up from the floor to grab it from Harry’s bed. It’s his mom texting him back during her break. After he reads the text, he notices the time and realizes how late it has gotten.

“I should probably head out, it’s getting late.” Louis says, starting to gather his things.

Harry stands up. “Oh okay.” Louis doesn’t miss the hint of disappointment on Harry’s face. Louis doesn’t really want to leave either, but he still has homework to finish.

“Thanks for dinner, Harold. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Harry walks him out to the front door.

“Bye Lou.”

Louis leaves Harry’s house, replaying the evening in his head. He realizes that they never got around to talking about their art project, but Louis finds that he doesn’t mind it one bit.


	2. Chapter 2

The next week finds Harry and Louis hanging out after school any time Louis doesn’t have a shift at the coffee shop. The days Louis has to work, Harry spends his evenings at the shop, working on homework and hanging out with Louis during his breaks.

It feels like the walls that were between them before have broken down since that first evening they spent at Harry’s house eating dinner and listening to Bon Iver. It was one of the loveliest nights Harry has ever had with anyone. It’s safe to say that he and Louis have become friends, spending as much time as they can together, getting to know each other, and finding out how many things they actually have in common.

At one point, they do sit to talk about their project, and have agreed to reconvene and check in about it in a couple of weeks, but as far as Harry knows they’re each doing well on their progress. They’re getting to know each other, which is one of the main things that they needed to be able to create something.

Harry’s parents return from their trip, but his father has been so busy with work that he’s missed their family dinners a lot this week, which Harry doesn’t mind one bit.

Unfortunately the preparations for Harry’s coming of age party continue. Each day that passes, there seems to be more that needs to be done. His parents have hired a party planner and when they sit through a meeting to go over the details, Harry wishes he could have a say. Everything is going to be way over the top and not close to Harry’s taste at all. He sits there with his arms crossed just listening and trying not to cringe. He knows it isn’t the planner’s fault, and judging by his mother’s excitement he knows it’s mostly her influence that has garnered these outlandish ideas.

“So what do you think, honey?” His mom asks him after their planner finally finishes going over everything. “Do you like it?”

Harry wants to say that he doesn’t like it, and that he just wants to have something simple if he must have a coming of age party. But then he looks at his mother’s face and the way she’s smiling so brightly, Harry doesn’t want to take that away from her. He will only turn eighteen once, and he resigns himself to letting his parents make the most of it, regardless of his own wishes.

“It’s great mom.” He says, with little to no emotion.

His mother claps. “Great!”

The next day, he can’t help himself but to vent to Louis. He doesn’t know why, but he feels like Louis would understand what he’s going through. Niall would tell him he’s being ridiculous and that he should be glad he gets such a lavish party.

“That sounds absolutely terrible. For my coming of age, my best friend Zayn took me out to that 2 for $20 special at Chilli’s.” Louis chuckles after Harry finishes telling him everything.

“I’d honestly prefer that over what my parents have planned. But I can’t stop them from doing it. I’ve sort of just accepted that I have to play along and just get it over with.” Harry drops his head down on the wooden table of the coffee shop and groans.

Louis pats him on the head. “There, there, Harold. Look at the brightside. You’re going to be getting lots of gifts at the party.”

Harry scoffs. “I don’t need anything, though. I’d rather just receive money instead so that I can donate it to a worthy cause. Like the Omega Project or Alphas Against Omega Discrimination. Something meaningful, you know?”

Louis doesn’t say anything, instead, just stares at Harry for a moment and Harry makes him feel self conscious.

“What is it? Do I have something on my face?” Harry touches his face and adjusts his glasses.

Louis laughs, shaking his head. “No, no. Just. That’s really considerate, Haz.”

Harry’s face heats up and he smiles. “Thanks.”

“Are you free tonight?” Louis asks.

Harry takes a sip of his hot chocolate and thinks. His parents left for another business trip this afternoon, so he doesn’t have to worry about a curfew or anything. Plus, his parents don’t really even have a curfew for him because they trust Harry isn’t up to any trouble because he really isn’t.

“I’m free as a bird. Why?” He responds.

Louis is tapping his finger nails on the table— royal blue polish on them today—  almost as if he’s nervous about what he’s about to ask.

“Do you want to go on another adventure?” Louis quirks his eyebrow playfully, smiling mischievously.

“What kind of adventure?” Harry inquires.

“Can’t say. You’ll just have to trust me on this one. Do you trust me Harold?”

And Harry does. He’s only known Louis for a few short weeks, but he’s really grown to like everything about him so far. He’s a genuinely nice guy despite the tough exterior he tends to put out.

“Of course I trust you.” Harry doesn’t mean to sound as intense as it does, but there’s really no way to take it back now. Louis seems to be a bit caught off guard by the sincerity, but he recovers quickly.

“Okay, great! Be ready at 10PM. Wear dark, comfortable clothing.” Louis tells him before standing up. “I gotta go back to work. Ten o’clock. Don’t forget.”

“But…”

“Ten o’clock!” Louis calls over his shoulder as he walks away.

Harry wants to ask more questions, but it’s obvious Louis isn’t going to give anything else away to him. He looks down at his phone and sees that he has to go home for dinner. He guesses his trust in Louis will be put to the test tonight, if he doesn’t end up in jail or something.

-

It’s 9:45 PM and Harry is standing in front of his closet glaring at it like it has personally offended him. Turns out, he doesn’t own any black clothes. He groans and walks over to his sister’s room. She’s away at college, so she doesn’t have any use of the clothes she has left behind in her closet. He goes through her dresser drawers and stumbles upon a pair of sweatpants. He also finds a black Arctic Monkeys t-shirt and takes that as well before heading back to his room.

The clothes fit him a little tight, but they’re still wearable. His sister is only about an inch taller than him, but that’s only because he hasn’t presented yet. As soon as he does, especially if he presents as alpha, he’ll out grow her in no time.

He puts on his black pair of Nike Air Max and borrows his dad’s black hoodie before he makes his way to his front door. As soon as he gets there, he receives a text from Louis that he’s waiting right outside.

The heat from the inside of Louis' car hits him instantly as he gets in and his glasses fog up, so he takes them off to clean them.

“You clean up nice, Harold. Are you ready to live on the wild side?” Louis asks as he begins driving.

“That depends. Are we going to be committing any felonies tonight?”

Louis laughs, his eyes crinkling at the corners. Harry notices that his question goes unanswered.

“So, are you going to tell me where we’re going?”

Louis glances at him for a moment before turning his attention back to the road. “All in due time.” He turns up the volume on the car radio and Harry lets the subject go for now and turns his attention to the street lights.

Louis pulls up in front of a house, and before he can ask where they are a guy Harry has never seen before emerges from it. This guy is insanely gorgeous. He’s wearing a black beanie on his head and he’s got a nice scruff all over his face. Harry finds himself staring and shakes himself out of it. Harry gets out of the car and makes a move to go towards the back seat.

“Harry, let Zayn go in the back,” Louis interrupts his movements. Harry nods and pulls the lever to help Zayn get into the back. He's relieved that it's dark and Louis can't see the blush that is probably dusting his cheeks.

“Harry, Zayn. Zayn, Harry. Zayn is my best friend, we went to the same school before I transferred.” Louis explains.

Zayn and Harry greet each other quickly, before Harry sits back down in the front seat and buckles his seatbelt.

“Did you get the equipment?” Zayn asks Louis as he turns onto the highway.

Louis nods, “In the trunk. Have I ever failed you?”

“I guess not.” Zayn replies.

They drive for about twenty minutes or so, Harry isn’t exactly sure. But they end up in the outskirts of the city, with no sight of anyone nearby. Louis parks in an empty parking lot and shuts off the engine.

“Okay, let’s do this.” He gets out of the car without explaining anything else, and it’s frustrating as hell because Harry would like to know what the hell he’s about to get himself into. It’s not that he doesn’t trust Louis, it has more to do with him not being in the loop of what’s happening. Harry likes to plan his life, minute to minute and hour to hour. Having someone like Louis in his life throws a wrench into those types of plans because Louis lives for the adventure, and does things in the spur of the moment.

Harry gets out of the car, and Louis is popping the trunk open. There’s cans of spray paints, masks, and a tarp.

Louis turns to look at them, “Zayn, you get the paints in your backpack. Harry help me with the tarp. Everyone grab a mask.”

Zayn jumps into action without question already seemingly familiar with the protocol. He obviously knows what they’re about to do, and has likely done it before. Harry helps Louis get the tarp out of the trunk and they walk about half a block down. They stop in front of a brick wall that seems to be part of a warehouse. Louis and Harry put the tarp on the ground and Zayn begins unpacking the spray paints and setting them on top of it. They take off their masks and place them next to the paints.

“Okay Harry. I need you to be on the lookout. I doubt anyone will show up, but you can never be too safe. As soon as you catch wind of a person, or worse, a cop, I need you to whistle like this.” Louis sticks both of his pinkies in his mouth, one on each corner and blows, causing a loud high pitched whistle. “Can you do that?”

Harry follows the same movements as Louis just did and his whistle isn’t as strong and loud as Louis’.

“Not bad. Okay. We’re counting on you, Hazza.” Louis tells him.

Harry nods, blushing at the nickname. “I’ll try my best.” He promises before Louis pats him on the arm and he and Zayn put their hoods over their heads. They pull their masks up over their mouths and get to work on the wall.

The night makes it hard to see what Zayn and Louis are painting. All Harry can hear is the hissing of the spray paints. He makes rounds around the perimeter to make sure they’re alone and then comes back to check on their progress. The guys work fast, surrounded by a cloud of fumes as they continue to spray the brick wall. Eventually, Harry can start seeing something starting to take shape. Harry realizes that it’s the anatomical heart he had seen Louis drawing on his sketchpad not too long ago. This one is a lot more detailed and a lot more colorful. Even in the dim lighting of the amber street lights, Harry can see the different colors Zayn and Louis are adding to it. Harry is so entranced by their work, he almost forgets that he was assigned to do a job, so he goes to do just that.

After another hour or so, Louis and Zayn are finishing up and they take off their masks, and stand back to admire their hard work.

Louis looks over his shoulder at Harry, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

“Hey, will you take a picture of us?”

Harry takes the phone and opens the camera app. Louis and Zayn are facing the wall, their hoods still draped over their heads.

“You don’t want to show your face?” Harry asks, though now that he hears his own question he realizes the obvious answer.

“No. Just take the picture with our backs, please,” Louis instructs.

Harry takes the first picture, but realizes the flash wasn’t on and it came out too murky so he changes the settings and tries again. The flash goes off this time, so he takes a few pictures, to let them choose their favorite one. When he’s finished, he hands the phone back to Louis.

Louis and Zayn look through the pictures with grins on their faces. “These are sweet. Thanks, Haz.”

“We have to hurry and pack it up,” Zayn says and Louis nods before they start gathering up their supplies. Harry helps where he can, and in no time they’ve got everything packed up and back in the trunk of Louis’ car.

They get in the car, Louis still insisting Harry ride in the front with him, and they drive away.

“Who’s hungry?” As if on cue, Harry’s stomach growls.

They stop by a diner not far from Zayn’s house and settle in one of the booths. Harry sits next to Louis, and Zayn sits across from them. The waitress takes their orders, and when she excuses herself to put it in, Louis takes his phone out.

“I’m going to post the picture,” he announces.

Harry looks over Louis' shoulder and watches him pull up Instagram. He sees the username Louis is posting to and his eyes widen.

“Wait a minute,” Harry says. He points to Louis and across at Zayn, “ _You’re_ the Night Owls?”

Louis and Zayn exchange nervous glances before shifting their gaze over to Harry.

“Um..kinda?” Louis says, sounding unsure. Harry has never heard him sound this insecure before.

“Oh my God. I’ve been following your work for months! I absolutely love it.” Harry explains before Louis thinks he’s disappointed in him or something.

“You have?” Louis squeaks.

“Yes! I saw something on the news about it,” Harry realizes they’re in a public place, even though no one is sitting close enough to overhear them, he still lowers his voice into a whisper. “After you guys did that painting of the police officer handing a mushroom to Mario from the Super Mario Brothers behind the police station, I looked up your Instagram and have been following your work ever since.”

Louis actually blushes at Harry’s words. Harry doesn’t think he’s ever seen him so flustered before.

Zayn laughs, “Oh man. That one was a close call. I’ve never run so fast in my life,” he recalls.

Louis joins him, “God yeah.”

Their food arrives, and after Louis posts the picture they see how quickly it gains likes and comments. Their account has over a million followers, and it’s so interesting to see how quickly it gains traction. Harry wonders how many people have their notifications on for that account. He could just imagine the fans that live in the area who are probably rolling out of bed to go see the finished product and take pictures of it before the owners of the building paint over it. Sometimes the owner decides to keep the artwork intact because it promotes their business and brings a lot of attention to it. Other times they try to get rid of it as soon as they can, though Harry thinks they do it out of spite. Harry’s own phone notifies him that the Night Owls have posted a new picture. He clicks on the heart button as soon as his phone opens the app to the post.

They finally dig into their food. Harry ordered pancakes, and Zayn and Louis ordered French toast, explaining that it’s tradition after they post another creation.

“So...can I ask how it all began?” Harry asks after he’s had his fill of pancakes.

Louis shrugs. “It started almost a year ago. It was going to be a one time thing. We did our own version of Starry Night and Zayn drew ‘Gough Home!’ in huge bubble letters. It was just for fun, but it sort of spiraled from there. Before we knew it, we had become this social media sensation or whatever they call it.”

“No way. I had that wall art as my desktop background for the longest time. I found it hilarious,” Harry tells them.

“Of course you would, Harold. You’re a sucker for puns,” Louis giggles.

Harry shrugs, “What can I say? I’m a pun hoe.”

Louis rolls his eyes fondly, “You’re ridiculous.”

After they eat, Harry insists on paying the bill, telling them that it was an honor for him to be invited to experience the Night Owls creating another masterpiece in person, so it was the least he could do. Louis drops Zayn off first, and he tells Harry that it was nice to meet him before he bids them goodnight.

“Fuck, I didn’t realize it was so late,” Harry comments as Louis pulls out of the curb to drive to his house.

“Is it past your bedtime?” Louis teases. Harry slaps Louis on the arm. “Hey I’m driving over here!”

Harry cackles. The car gets quiet, the only sound is the engine roaring as it speeds down the highway.

Harry stares at Louis. The streetlights glow against his skin, making him look ethereal.

“Thank you.” Harry murmurs softly.

Louis glances at him before looking back at the road. “For what?”

“For inviting me out tonight. Best adventure ever.” Harry grins and Louis mirrors the same.

When Louis pulls up to Harry’s driveway, he can’t help the disappointment that pools at the pit of his stomach. He wants to invite Louis over because he doesn’t want this night to end yet. Getting to see this side of Louis, being so carefree and part of a pretty famous art duo, it doesn’t help kill his attraction for him. Instead, Harry feels it only intensify. His eyes keep falling on Louis’ lips wanting to know how they’d feel against his own lips. But Harry pushes those feelings down, because he doesn’t want to ruin the friendship that he and Louis currently have. They have something special between them that means more to Harry than anything else, and he doesn’t want to risk jeopardizing that.

“Have a good night, Haz. Thanks for trusting me and coming along for the ride,” Louis breaks Harry out of his thoughts.

Harry adjusts his glasses and bites his lip. “I had a lot of fun tonight, Lou. Good night.”

As Harry gets out of the car and walks away, he looks over his shoulder and waves.

When he’s in bed just a few minutes later, he falls asleep staring at the most recent picture posted by the Night Owls.

-

The ballroom is stuffy, full of people Harry has never met before in his life. He tugs on the collar of his shirt. He feels like the walls are caving in on him while he’s surrounded by faces he doesn’t even recognize. The lights are way too bright, and he finds himself making excuses to go to the bathroom every time his father tries to introduce him to another omega.

One of the omega’s his father introduced him to actually caught Niall’s attention, and he’s never been more grateful to his best friend for being an alpha. His mom makes him dance with her for one song, and he obliges because it isn’t really her fault that he doesn’t want to be here.

He had invited Louis, but Harry understood why he wouldn’t want to be here and he doesn’t blame him one bit. Harry doesn’t even want to be here.

Harry’s father gives a speech that he only half pays attention to. It’s all too much, way too much. Harry has never liked having all the attention focused solely on him, and this event is straight from one of his worst nightmares. He takes a deep breath and sips from his glass of water. He wishes there was a way that he could get out of here, escape unnoticed.

Harry scans the room, both of his parents are now busy entertaining their guests. His sister is dancing with her boyfriend, and Niall is talking to the pretty omega he freed Harry from earlier. He checks the time on his cell phone.

Maybe there is a way for Harry to leave without anyone noticing. He puts a plan into action, needing to get out of this place more than anything.

 

✦

Louis is bored out of his mind.

Zayn is out on a date with someone Louis has never heard of, so he’s probably not going to hear from him all night. And Harry...well, Harry is busy too. His parents are throwing him a very lavish and expensive coming of age party.

Harry invited Louis to come, but as much as he would have loved to spend time with him on his birthday, he just doesn’t feel like he would fit in at a party like that. Harry definitely understood. Hell, Harry himself didn’t even want to go to his own party.

Louis browses through Netflix for almost an hour unable to decide on a movie or show to watch. He eventually settles on Parks and Recreation, even though he’s seen it over a hundred times. He feels like he needs a good laugh, because he doesn’t want to think about how lonely he feels when his two closest friends are busy and have no time to entertain him.

He throws a frozen pizza in the oven and pulls a Coke out of the fridge to drink. As he’s getting a solo cup to serve himself some, he hears a knock at his door.

Louis pinches his eyebrows together. His mom isn’t due to be home until another few hours, so he wonders who it could be. He approaches the door carefully, because they don’t live in the best neighborhood in town, and stands on his tiptoes to look through the peephole.

Louis gasps. It’s a very distorted image of a very well dressed Harry Styles. He springs into action, unlocking the door to open it.

“Haz, what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at your birthday party?” He asks.

Harry rushes inside like he’s running away from someone. After Louis shuts the door he stands in front of Harry and gets a better look at him. He’s wearing a shiny red suit, that looks like silk, with black embroidered flowers with little jewels on them that sparkle when the light hits it just right. His hair is slicked back, and he doesn’t have his glasses on.

Louis feels like the air has been punched out of him. Sure, he thinks that the other Harry, _his_ Harry is gorgeous just as he is with his wild curls and black framed glasses. But this Harry, standing right in front of him, Louis thinks he could have stepped right off of a runway, he is absolutely breathtaking.

He swallows hard before asking, “Is everything alright?”

When Harry’s eyes meet his, Louis can see the green in them even more clearly. There’s little specks of gold in them, he realizes.

“Everything’s fine...I just…” Harry paces around Louis’ small kitchen before stopping again. “I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t sit there and smile and just act like I was having a good time. I don’t know who most of those people are, and my father was just dragging me around introducing me to his colleagues and friends like I’m some sort of puppet. I don’t know...I just had to get out of there.”

Louis can see that Harry’s shaking, so he gets closer to him, wrapping his arms around the other man.

He rubs Harry’s back comfortingly, “I’m sorry Haz. Come on, I put a pizza in the oven and was about to do some Netflix binging. Wanna join me?” He pulls away to get a better look at Harry. He seems a lot more relaxed now.

“I’d love too, but. I really want to get out of these clothes. I should have stopped by my house to change.” Harry tells him.

“Come on. You can borrow something of mine,” Louis leads Harry to his bedroom and they go through his closet until they find something that might actually fit Harry.

“Here, go change in the bathroom and I’ll get the pizza out of the oven. Meet me in the living room, okay?” Louis instructs.

He leaves Harry and does just as he said he would do. He pulls the pizza out and sets it to cool and then sets the stuff on the coffee table in their living room.

Harry returns not long after wearing Louis’ black Britney Spears shirt and pajama bottoms. He’s smiling bashfully as he takes a seat next to Louis on the couch.

“So, Britney Spears, huh?” Harry comments with his eyebrow raised.

“Hey, Britney is an icon and I wear that shirt proudly, thank you very much.” Louis tells him.

Harry laughs, it’s airy and lovely and it makes Louis want to always be the reason for causing that type of laughter from him.

“I hope you don’t mind, I borrowed some shampoo and washed my hair to get all that gel out,” Harry says as Louis gives him a paper plate with a slice of pizza on it.

Louis licks some tomato sauce off of his finger, “No worries. I’m happy to have the curls back if I’m honest.”

Harry smiles, his cheeks pinken up, but he doesn’t say anything. Instead, they both sit back to eat pizza and watch Parks and Recreation. Louis spends more of his time looking at Harry from his peripheral than paying any attention to the show. He revels in the way Harry cackles every time something funny happens, and Louis can’t force himself to look away.

It gets a bit chilly in the apartment later on, but Louis doesn’t want to turn up the heat. He doesn’t want to run up the gas bill, so instead, he grabs a fleece blanket from the linen closet and drapes it over them both. Harry gets closer to Louis when he huddles under the covers, and Louis’ heart begins to beat faster when their sides touch.

Louis can feel Harry’s every movement now that they’re touching, and he’s finding it even harder to concentrate. He decides to clean up the mess they made in the living room and put it away in the kitchen.

“Would you like some ice cream?” He calls.

“Yes, please.”

Louis takes out the pint he had been planning on having by himself as he binged alone. He never would have thought that Harry would show up at his door, wear his clothes, and sort of cuddle with him on his couch. He grabs two spoons and hands one over to Harry when he settles himself on the couch.

“Mint chocolate chip. My favorite,” Harry tells him, dimpling.

“It’s mine too. You’re lucky I’m even sharing this with you,” Louis says.

Louis takes a couple of spoonfuls before he remembers something.

“Shit! Wait right here,” he tells Harry, leaving the ice cream and spoon and shuffling over to his room. He grabs what he needs and strides back to the living room with the item behind his back.

Harry turns his head to see what Louis is up to.

“What’s wrong?” He asks. Worry colors his features for a split second, but Louis brings the item in his hands in front of him for Harry to see.

“I got you something for your birthday. It isn’t much, but I was at the record store, saw this and thought of you. So I had to get it.” Louis explains. He sits on the couch again and hands it over to Harry.

Harry takes it, “You didn’t have to do this, you know.”

Louis shrugs, “I know. But I wanted to. Now open it.”

The gift isn’t wrapped, but it’s covered in plastic bags, so Harry removes them. When he finishes he gasps.

“Lou…”

In his hands, Harry holds Radiohead’s _Kid A_ album. He shifts his gaze to Louis again.

“I love it. Thank you.”

Louis smiles bashfully, his cheeks heating up. “It’s not a big deal. I looked through your collection to make sure you didn’t already have it. Luckily you didn’t. It’s one of my favorite albums, so I thought maybe you could have something that makes you think of me when you listen to it.”

His looks down at his feet, the heat of Harry’s gaze is almost too much for him to bare. When Louis finally gathers the courage to look back up, Harry is still staring at him. His lips are curved in a small smile, dimple out on his cheek, and his eyes contain something in them that he can’t quite describe. Louis’ eyes trail down to Harry’s lips, they look so pretty, pink, and plump. He licks his own lips self consciously, but then looks away.

“Lou.” Harry’s voice is so low, Louis barely even recognizes it. It’s like Harry is asking him to do it, almost begging him.

Louis blinks heavily, and it’s like something takes over him. Maybe it’s the heat from Harry’s gaze, or maybe his lips are magnets that are drawing Louis closer, closer, and closer. When Louis’ lips land on Harry’s, he opens them like an invitation, and then all bets are off. Their lips move together like long lost friends, and Louis can’t get enough. Harry tastes sweet, like sugar and mint, and just Harry. Louis finds himself moaning into Harry’s mouth, and the other boy whines in response. Louis’ hand cups Harry’s cheek, and the kiss becomes deeper, more desperate.

When they finally pull away, Louis still has his eyes closed, needing a moment to bring himself back down from the clouds he was just floating on. He flutters his eyes open, and Harry looks obscene. His lips are shiny with spit, and bitten red. Louis is so tempted to go back in, but by some miracle he manages to restrain himself.

The shrill sound of Harry’s phone pops the bubble of their little moment, and they both jump. Harry picks his phone up and swears.

“It’s late, I should probably get going or my parents are going to kill me.” Harry’s face falls, looking at Louis with regretful eyes.

“Yeah, okay.”

Harry puts his suit back on, and Louis follows him to the door. He looks at Louis for a moment before leaning in to kiss him again, this time too short for Louis’ taste.

“Goodnight, Lou. Thank you for making my birthday so much better,” he smiles softly.

Louis smiles back and kisses him again. “Goodnight, Haz.”

Louis leans against the door after Harry’s long gone, sliding down to the floor with his fingers tracing his lips. The memory of his kiss with Harry still fresh on his mind.

 

✦

On Monday Harry still feels like he’s floating. There’s a permanent grin etched on his face and he doesn’t even care who notices it.

When his father tries to bring up the college situation during breakfast, Harry doesn’t let it ruin his day. He told him he applied to Northwestern too, just to placate him for a little bit. If for some reason Harry doesn’t get accepted to Yale, he’ll have Northwestern to fall back on, even though he doesn’t want that. It’s a worst case scenario for him.

Harry walks the halls at school a bit taller today, feeling like he’s on top of the world. It’s like kissing Louis has given him a new sense of confidence that has been dormant inside of him for a long time.

Harry hasn’t seen Louis anywhere, but he normally doesn’t catch sight of him until art class. They’d exchanged a few text messages last night, but they hadn’t talked about their kiss and Harry didn’t want to seem clingy. He’s looking forward to seeing Louis today, though. He’s missed him even though it’s only been over a day since he last saw him.

Harry gets a little distracted at lunch while Niall is talking about the omega girl that he met at his birthday party.

“She’s a freshman at Northwestern studying International Business,” Niall continues talking, not noticing that Harry is hardly paying any attention.

Harry scoffs, “Yeah. My father invited her in the hopes that I’d want to pursue something with her,” he rolls his eyes.

Niall’s grin drops, “Wait...really?”

“Don’t worry about it Niall. I’m not interested. After my father introduced us I made up an excuse about having to use the restroom. You can ask her out.” Harry assures him.

Niall’s shoulders relax, “Thanks, Haz. God, she smelled amazing. You’ll see whenever you present. It’s the most amazing thing. It’s like when your mom makes your favorite meal and you can smell the deliciousness all the way from your room. That’s how I felt when I first saw her. She’s wonderful.”

Niall has the dreamiest eyes, and Harry would normally laugh and tease his best friend, but Harry isn’t doing any better. He might not have presented yet, but he sure loved the way Louis’ lips tasted. He can’t wait to kiss him again.

As soon as the bell rings when he’s at orchestra, Harry can’t get to art class fast enough. The anticipation of seeing Louis has been killing him all day. He’s the first one to walk in the classroom, so he takes his seat and gets his iPad and sketchbook out. He decides to entertain himself with a bit of drawing to distract himself from the nerves he’s feeling. He and Louis still have to talk about things, but Harry is pretty confident that things will work out for them.

The second bell rings and Harry looks around him. Every one of his classmates has made it, and they’re all in their assigned seats. Except for Louis.

Harry’s heart begins to beat faster against his chest. He stops himself from overthinking and grabs his cell phone, discreetly sending a text message to Louis.

He tries not to check his phone every five minutes but fails miserably. Throughout the entire period, he gets no response. Louis hadn’t mentioned anything yesterday about feeling sick or not making it to school today in the few texts they had exchanged. In fact, the last text Harry received from Louis was a ‘see you tomorrow xx’. Harry remembers because he was so hung up on those two kisses at the end of the text, not being able to stop thinking about it.

When class is dismissed, Harry considers going to Louis’ to make sure he’s okay, but thinks better of it. He doesn’t want to seem too smothering, and he knows that Louis will contact him when he can. Right?

Louis misses school all week. He also ignores all of Harry’s text messages.

At this point Harry feels more worried than hurt because he knows that Louis wouldn’t be missing this much school just to avoid Harry. Harry makes sure to collect notes and homework for him at art class for when Louis returns so he’ll be able to catch up in no time.

By Sunday night Louis finally texts Harry back. He tells Harry he’d been sick with the flu all week, but that he’ll be in school on Monday. Harry lets out a sigh of relief, his worries melting away at finally hearing that Louis will be okay.

-

As soon as Harry steps into school on Monday something feels off. Harry can’t quite put his finger on it, and maybe it’s just all in his head. There is a heavy feeling in his chest that won’t go away all morning. Harry tries his best to ignore it and go about his day, but it remains there, lingering like a pebble in his shoe that he can’t get out.

By lunchtime, Niall is talking his head off about Natalie, the pretty omega he’s been courting. He tells Harry all about their date on Saturday and how wonderful it was.

“She’s just so nice and lovely, Harry. I think I’ve found my mate,” Niall continues.

Harry snorts. “You’re only eighteen Niall. Aren’t you a little young to be looking for a mate?”

Niall sighs, the smile on his face hasn’t gone away since Harry’s birthday party. “When you find the right person, all that shit doesn’t even matter Haz. You’ll see.”

Harry rolls his eyes because he doesn’t even want to think about presenting. His father never lets him stop thinking about it whenever he’s home so he refuses to think about it when he’s at school too.

The heavy feeling in Harry’s chest remains as he makes his was to orchestra. Mr. Schmidt instructs everyone to split into sections and work on their parts. Harry, being the chair of his section, leads his classmates into practicing their parts. He helps Emily with her part since she seems to be struggling with her timing. Before class ends, they go over the song together and Mr. Schmidt tells them that they’re doing a great job at getting it almost perfect, which makes Harry happy.

As soon as the bell rings, Harry couldn’t get to art class fast enough. He has missed Louis so much, he can’t wait to see him. When he walks through the classroom door, he sees Louis in his seat, looking down at the sketch he’s drawing. He doesn’t seem to notice Harry, and he doesn’t want to feel like he’s sneaking up on him again.

Harry grins, “Hey Lou.”

Louis looks up and Harry immediately notices that there’s something off about him. He doesn’t smile in return like he normally does when Harry greets him.

“Hey.” He says it so quietly, Harry almost misses it. Louis looks back down at his drawing and resumes his drawing.

Harry stays frozen for a few seconds before other students begin making their way into the classroom. Without another word, he takes a seat and pulls his iPad out, ready to take notes.

Louis doesn’t look at Harry’s direction once during their lecture. Harry doesn’t want to overthink things, and wants to give Louis the benefit of the doubt. Maybe Louis is still feeling a little sick, and he isn’t up for socializing. He can’t help but feel a little hurt, though. He’d been looking forward to seeing Louis ever since they shared that kiss Harry hasn’t been able to stop thinking about.

But what if Louis isn’t sick, and instead realized he made a mistake kissing Harry? Harry doesn’t know what he’ll do if that’s the case. He really thought he and Louis were moving forward in their friendship, was even hoping it could turn into something more. Now, he isn’t so sure.

When their bell rings and they’re dismissed, Harry is about to ask Louis if he’s working at the coffee shop today, but before he can, Louis is already making his way out the door. A knot forms in Harry’s throat, and he swallows hard as he gathers his things and heads to his locker.

By Wednesday, Harry reaches his breaking point. He manages to leave his class a little earlier before lunch, making up some excuse to his teacher. He walks out of the building and waits by Louis’ car, knowing full well that Louis will be leaving campus for lunch like he does every single day. Sure enough, Louis emerges. Harry has is arms crossed on his chest, and when Louis notices him standing by the driver’s side he freezes.

“Harry, what are you doing?” Louis asks. And it’s the most Louis has said to Harry all week, which is just sad to think about.

Determined, Harry doesn’t let Louis’ annoyed tone stop him. “I want to know what’s wrong. Why have you been so short with me since you got back to school. Why does it seem like you’re avoiding me?”

Louis rolls his eyes. “I’m not avoiding you.” He gets a cigarette out of his pocket and lights it up right in front of Harry. Harry hates that his mouth goes a bit dry at that. Louis makes everything look hot, even smoking. He’s wearing a black beanie on his head and a few wisps of hair are peeking out of it. His usual eyeliner outlines his eyes, and he’s wearing a nose stud today. His nails are a different color each, making his fingers look like a rainbow. Harry tries not to look at the way Louis sucks on the cigarette, his cheeks hollowing out making his thoughts lead into dirty territory.

Harry shakes himself out of his Louis filled haze to focus on what he came here to do.

“You are avoiding me, Louis. You’ve barely spoken to me all week. Did I do something to offend you? Are you...do you regret what happened between us?” Harry can’t help how small his voice gets at his last question. He hates that Louis is seeing him this vulnerable, but he just needs to know the truth.

Louis’ eyes soften a little, and he lets out a long sigh. “Look Harry. I’m sorry but, I do think it was a mistake. What happened between us shouldn’t have happened. We are completely different people and it would never work if we became anything more than friends.”

Each word feels like a stab to Harry’s heart. He can feel his eyes filling up with unshed tears. He doesn’t break, though. He won’t let Louis see him fall apart.

"I don't understand. I...I thought we had something special. Didn't you feel it too?" Harry's voice rasps. 

Louis avoids Harry's gaze, and Harry just wishes he could grab him by the shoulders and shake him to make him see that they'd be so good together. Louis doesn't say anything, though. He just continues to smoke his cigarette, and Harry guesses that should answer his question.

Harry adjusts his glasses, and lets out a resigned sigh. “Okay. Well, sorry for making things up in my head. I'll leave you alone from now on.” Harry croaks. He walks away before his tears manage to spill in front of Louis. 

Harry texts Will to pick him up, telling him that he isn’t feeling well and for the first time in his life he leaves school early, missing his most favorite classes.

He goes straight to his room, and tells Celia he’s going to take a nap, but he doesn't. He just lays on his bed staring at the ceiling as he listens to Bon Iver. He’s a masochist, Harry knows. But he closes his eyes and his mind drifts to that moment when he was in this very room with Louis listening to this very album. Louis looked so soft and pensive and Harry remembers thinking that he’d give anything to get a glimpse at Louis’ thoughts.

Harry gets a text from Louis asking if he's coming to class. He doesn’t answer. Instead, he shuts off his phone and lets himself drift off to sleep, hoping he doesn’t dream about Louis and his soft lips.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished writing chapter 8 so you guys get this chapter earlier than planned in celebration. :)

It’s been two weeks and things haven’t really changed, but Harry has become better at hiding his feelings. He and Louis barely exchange a few words in class. He knows they’ll eventually have to meet to work on their final project, but Harry thinks that he’ll deal with it when the time comes.

Now, they’re taking turns in presenting their art for an assignment Ms. Archie gave them last week. They were supposed to pick a quote and paint the feeling that it evokes in them. Harry really enjoyed working on his and he’s looking forward to presenting it to the class.

“Okay, Harry. You’re up.” Ms. Archie tells him when it’s his turn.

Harry carries his painting to the front of the class. He sets it on the easel, turning it on its front. He wants to reveal it at the right time, hoping it evokes the same emotion that the quote did for him. Harry stands up straight, takes a deep breath, and begins his presentation.

“I decided to create my painting based on the lyrics from one of my favorite artists, Troye Sivan,” Harry takes another breath. He always gets so nervous talking in front of the class, and even though he’s excited about presenting his project, it doesn’t stop his nerves from getting to him. “Troye is one of the very few male omegas that are out, and I find that to be very brave. As soon as I heard his story and what he’s been through, I immediately fell in love with his music. His songs create different types of emotions when you listen to them, and in some, you can feel the pain that he’s been through. I wanted to portray that emotion in my painting.”

Harry reveals his painting to the entire classroom. It’s a 10x12 oil painting on canvas.

“I used the lyrics ‘without losing a piece of me, how do I get to heaven?’. I used blue and green hues and darkened some of it by mixing the paint with a bit of black to create a darker shade. I outlined the lyrics subtly to make them visible only if you look at the painting carefully.” Harry points to the area he’s talking about where he drew the lyrics with white paint.

“Thank you, Harry.” Ms. Archie says, and the class claps. Harry doesn’t miss some of the dirty looks he gets, probably from the more conservative classmates that think male omegas are an abomination. Harry doesn’t let it bother him, though.

When Harry goes back to his seat, Louis is staring at him. Harry doesn’t stare back though, and Louis stands up because it’s his turn to present his assignment. Harry doesn’t really pay attention to what he says to the class because things are still too fresh in his mind and he doesn’t feel that he can look directly at Louis without replaying his words in his mind. Instead, Harry sketches on his pad until the bell rings. He gathers his things and makes a move to leave when a hand stops him.

“Harry, wait.” Louis’ voice is small but he doesn’t miss the bit of edge it has to it.

Harry wants to tell Louis to go fuck himself, or something else that’s equally as mean. But he doesn’t, because Louis doesn’t deserve that even though he hurt Harry’s feelings.

“What is it?” Harry asks. He doesn’t mean to sound annoyed, but he can’t help it. He doesn’t want to act like things are okay between them when they obviously aren’t.

“Can we...can we hang out?” Louis asks.

“Why?”

Louis' lips press together at Harry’s question, but he seems determined to continue. “Because I’m sorry. And I was unfair to you, and I miss you.”

Louis’ eyes look sincere, like he’s pleading for Harry to believe him. And Harry finds that he does. But he’s still afraid of getting hurt again.

“Okay.” Harry says. “How about we hang out at the coffeehouse after school? Work on some homework?” He wants to start slow, just to make sure things are really okay between them.

Louis’ face lights up like Harry’s just given him the best news. “Yeah, yeah. That sounds great. Wanna meet me at the parking lot so I can drive us there?”

“Sure. I have to stop by my locker first so I’ll be there in a bit.” Harry tells him. With that, Louis walks away and Harry looks after him longingly wondering what made him change his mind all of a sudden. He doesn’t dwell on it though, because if Louis is wanting them to be friends again like they used to be, Harry isn’t going to question it.

Hanging out at the coffee shop with Louis is a little awkward at first. It mostly has to do with the fact that they don’t really know what to talk about. To Harry if feels like he’s missed so much of what Louis has been up to even though it’s only been a couple of weeks.

They start talking about their art project and how their own progress is going and it picks up from there. By the time it starts getting late, they’re catching up and joking around like they used to.

Things go back to normal after that. Harry and Louis hang out more often than before everything got weird between them. They don’t talk about the kiss, and Harry doesn’t bring it up because he doesn’t want to risk losing Louis again.

Louis takes Harry on another painting adventure. This time, the Night Owls paint a beautiful [ mural ](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR1A8csyZ2DEArwEZEiCzrCPs-1-Pn7Eknsh7fwhL_EU3aa69r5Rw) depicting different buildings with balloons and clouds everywhere against the backdrop. The red balloons are flying away in the air, and right beneath all of it Zayn draws ‘do you think balloons cry when you let them go?’ in black block letters.

Harry is their photographer again, and they revisit the same diner as last time. This time Harry orders french toast, wanting to take part in the Night Owls’ tradition. Louis posts the picture, and the fans go wild. It had been almost a month since the last time they’d posted anything, so people had been anticipating what their next art piece would be.

Louis drops Zayn off at around 3AM and they say their goodbyes before they head off to Harry’s house.

“So what are you up to tomorrow?” Louis asks as he merges onto the freeway.

“Nothing. I was just going to study for my Geometry test and practice my violin,” Harry answers. His parents are out of town, and weekends are pretty much a snooze at the Styles household.

“Do you want to come over to mine? My mom’s working all day and I will be bored out of my mind. We can Netflix it up and order a pizza or something.” Louis offers.

Harry grins. “That sounds perfect, actually. I’ll bring dessert.”

-

The next day, Harry has Will drop him off at Louis’ house. He tells him he’ll message him when he’s ready to leave. He knocks on Louis’ door and a very soft looking Louis answers the door.

“Hey, Haz. Come on in. I just finished ordering the pizza.”

Harry walks inside, taking his shoes off by the door. This time he isn’t in a fancy suit, instead he's in his sweats and Fleetwood Mac t-shirt.

“What’s that?” Louis points to the container in Harry’s hand. And right.

“I made cookies. Peanut butter chocolate chip. They’re my specialty.” Harry tells him.

Louis’ eyebrows shoot up. “Look at you Mr. Baker over here. Let me see.”

Harry gives Louis the container and Louis opens the lid.

“These smell incredible!” Louis exclaims. He takes a cookie out before closing the lid again and takes a bite. “Oh my God. They taste even better than they smell.”

Harry giggles. “Thanks.”

Louis reaches over and offers Harry a bite and he takes it. The cookie is soft and buttery, melting in his mouth as soon as he bites into it. Looks like he’s still got it.

“How do you feel about watching Grace and Frankie? I’ve heard it’s good and I’ve been wanting to watch it, but if you don’t want to we can watch something else.” Louis tells him as they settle onto the couch.

“Grace and Frankie is fine with me.”

The pizza arrives not long after, and they tear into it as they binge watch the show. They decide that they like it after a couple of episodes and agree to continue watching it. The evening is reminding Harry of the last time he was here, and how he and Louis cuddled under a blanket on his couch and how nervous he felt having him at such a close proximity.

They aren’t as close this time, but Harry can still feel the heat of Louis’ body next to him. It isn’t long before it starts getting a bit chilly, and just like last time, Louis brings a fleece blanket and places it over them both. It forces Louis to get closer to Harry so they can get enough blanket to cover both of them.

Harry feels his heart beating faster with this new closeness. But he focuses on the show, trying not to think about Louis and kissing him on this very couch like they did the night of his birthday. Their thighs brush slightly, and Harry swallows hard. He looks over at Louis from his periphery and he seems immersed in the show, so Harry attempts to do the same.

Louis ends up sitting sideways on the couch, placing his legs over Harry's lap. It’s starting to become almost too much for him, but he manages to calm himself down. He places his hand on one of Louis’ legs, rubbing circles with his thumb as they continue watching the show.

Harry begins to feel Louis squirm beneath him and his breath hitches softly. He would have missed it if he was paying attention to the show. Harry continues rubbing on Louis’ leg, but this time with more intent, and Louis’ body shivers beneath his fingertips.

Harry faces Louis and he sees that he’s biting his lips shut. “Lou…” He begins to say.

“Don’t.” Louis warns. His voice is on edge, like he’s trying to keep it together. Louis shifts on his side of the couch and shoves the blanket away from him.

And that’s when Harry smells it. It’s one of the most delicious scents Harry has ever come across. Like honey, strawberries and all around sweetness. 

Harry’s mouth waters. His breath becomes shallow, and he’s breathing harder, his heartbeat racing so loud it rings in his ears.

“Harry, are you okay?” Louis’ voice sounds like Harry is underwater. He thinks he feels Louis’ hand on his forehead. “Oh my God, you’re burning up.”

Harry pulls away from Louis' touch, wiping the sweat off his forehead. “I’m fine.” He tries to insist, but just saying that takes the breath out of him.

Everything around Harry goes fuzzy, and all he can smell is that sweet, sweet scent. “What is that?”

“What do you mean?” He hears Louis ask. He still sounds so far away even though he’s sitting right next to him.

“It smells _so_ good.”

As soon as he finishes saying that, a shooting pain goes through his groin and he’s screaming.

“Fuck!” Harry grunts. He puts his hand over his crotch and he’s hard as a rock and it hurts like hell.

“Oh God.” Louis gasps.

“What is it? What’s happening to me?” Harry writhes in pain on the couch. Louis has stood up and he’s pacing back and forth in the living room.

“I think you’re presenting….as _alpha_ ,” Louis informs him, voice shaking.

“I’m what?” Another shooting pain on his dick makes him scream in pain again. “Ow! Oh God! It hurts!”

“Come on!” Harry feels Louis help him get to his feet. He’s still grabbing onto his crotch because it hurts so bad. He’s never been in this amount of pain in his life.

Louis leads him through the hallway and into a small bathroom. “Take off your clothes, Haz.”

Harry wants to ask questions. He wants to know what’s happening to him, but he’s in too much pain to think or even ask anything coherent right now. He follows instructions and strips off his shirt, pants, and boxers. Louis is leaning over the bathtub filling it up with water.

“Get in the tub. Come on.” Louis helps Harry keep his balance as he manages to sit as comfortably as he can on the tub.

The water is ice cold, but it begins to soothe some of the pain Harry is in. He looks down at his crotch and it’s an angry red color and still hard as a rock. Harry is afraid it’s going to explode or something worse.

“Harry, I need you to listen to me, okay?” Louis’ voice brings him back to reality and Harry nods weakly. “I need you to jerk yourself off. You need to pop your first knot. It’s going to hurt, but it will make you feel better, I promise. Trust me.”

“But it hurts, Lou. It hurts so bad,” Harry whines. There’s tears running down his cheeks, but he doesn’t even care that Louis is seeing him this way. He’s in too much pain to let it bother him.

Louis gently removes Harry’s glasses and wipes some of the tears from his cheeks.

“I know, love. I know. But you need to do this or else it’s going to keep hurting and you’re going to risk having permanent damage. Now, come on. Put your hand around it.” Louis instructs. His voice is soft and soothing, and it’s helping Harry a little.

After taking a deep breath, Harry does as he’s told. He wraps his hand around himself, wincing at the pain. He bites his lips shut as he begins to move his hand back and forth.

“That’s it love. Keep going. You can do this.”

Harry closes his eyes and focuses on Louis’ voice as he continues to encourage him and tell him how well he’s doing. If he wasn’t hard already, Harry thinks he’d definitely be hard now.

Harry whimpers after one particular thrust, but Louis’ voice helps him stay focused. It hurts, it hurts so much, but Harry is beginning to feel a little bit of pleasure in the midst of all the pain.

“That’s it, love. You’re doing so good.”

Harry continues to stroke himself, focusing on the pleasure instead of the pain. He begins to feel something inside of him begin to form. Harry assumes it’s his knot. That motivates Harry to keep going, knowing that it will all be over soon. He increases his pace, wincing through the pain until he feels it. His orgasm rips through him and he shouts as his knot forms, but the pleasure only lasts for a few seconds before more pain comes.

“Fuck!”

“You’re okay. You’re okay,” Louis murmurs, rubbing Harry’s arm comfortingly. “You did so well. You popped your first knot.”

Harry is still panting, and he splashes some of the cold water on his face, instantly soothing him. He shifts his gaze to Louis, whose eyes are wide and blinking staring at nothing, shocked at what he’s just witnessed.

“How did you...how did you know?” Harry asks. He’s waiting for his knot to come down, and he needs a distraction.

Louis averts his eyes from Harry, his hands suddenly becoming more interesting. He chips off some of the green nail polish on one of his fingernails.

“Louis look at me.” Harry’s voice is deeper and more authoritative than he’s used to. It feels weird, but Harry notices the way that Louis’ head snaps up, obeying instantly.

“How did you know?” He repeats his question, his voice softer this time.

Louis scratches the back of his neck and takes an audible breath. “Do you remember that week I was supposedly sick with the flu?”

Harry nods. “Yeah. What about it?”

“That Sunday I began to feel really feverish. I didn’t know what was going on. I thought I was really getting sick, but then...I realized that I was presenting...as an omega,” Louis utters the last bit in a soft whisper.

“Lou…”

Louis interrupts Harry, “I went to the free clinic because we don’t have health insurance. They gave me some suppressants and gave me a list of scent neutralizers I could use to help hide my scent. I didn’t think I had to worry about presenting because both of my parents are betas. I was almost sure I’d be the same as them. I freaked out. I didn’t want to believe it, but when I finally accepted it I did a lot of research. On omegas _and_ on alphas. Being an omega, I’m vulnerable to a lot of things, so I wanted to inform myself as best as I could so that I could protect myself. Yeah, we learn some things in class, but they don't teach us what to do when an omega encounters unwanted attention from an alpha. I read a lot about the alpha anatomy and stuff. So, as soon as you started feeling pain I just knew. I could smell it on you.”

“Is that what that scent was? Was that you?” Harry asks.

Louis laughs humorlessly. “Yeah. When we were on the couch and you were caressing my leg, it was turning me on a little...made me slick up a bit.”

“Fuck.” Harry doesn’t really know what else to say. It’s all so much information to take in, Harry is almost dizzy with it. He should have known what was happening to his body, he’d learned about it in Sex Ed. But Harry had been too caught up in the pain in his groin that he couldn’t think about anything else. He’s glad Louis was here to help him through it.

When Harry’s knot finally goes down, Louis helps him out of the tub.

“You should stay here until you’re completely back to normal. Wouldn’t want you going on an alpha frenzy by yourself.” Louis advises.

“I don’t want to risk hurting you, Louis. I should go home and lock myself in my room until it passes.” Harry insists.

“You’re not going to hurt me.” Louis says. His eyes are burning into Harry. “I trust you, and I know that you’d never do that. Even if you’re an alpha.”

Harry wants to keep fighting it, and he almost texts Will to pick him up, but he doesn’t.

“Okay.”

Louis smiles softly. “Come on. You can stay in my room and I’ll take the couch.”

“But..”

“No. We’re not going to argue about this, Haz.”

Harry changes into his clothes and doesn’t argue with Louis.

“Just holler if you need anything. You’ll probably need to pop a knot a few more times until it doesn’t hurt anymore. I’ll come check on you in a little bit.” Louis explains.

Harry swallows hard. He really isn’t looking forward to popping any more knots. The first one was painful enough as it is. “Alright.”

-

Maybe staying in Louis’ room was a mistake. A very big one.

Louis’ scent is _everywhere_. It’s all Harry can breathe, he’s intoxicated by it. He tosses and turns, laying face down on the bed, rubbing his nose on Louis’ pillow. The sweet, sweet scent infiltrates his nostrils making him hard in no time. He begins rutting against Louis’ mattress and it doesn’t take long for him to come again. He’s pretty sure Louis’ scent helped him pop his knot a lot faster this time around. He gets off a few more times, and the more he does it, the less it hurts.

A couple of hours later, Harry really isn’t sure how much later, Louis is knocking gently on the door.

“Come in.” Harry calls. His eyes feel heavy, and he’s so exhausted, he’s ready to sleep for the next week.

When Louis opens the door he doesn’t smell Louis’ scent. He wonders if Louis did something to keep his scent hidden so Harry wouldn’t go crazy with it. Harry is tempted to tell him that it's too late for that, but he doesn't.

Louis walks in with a mug, some leftover pizza and the rest of Harry’s cookies. “I made you some tea,” he announces, setting it on the side table. “Also, you need to eat something.”

Harry complies, taking big bites of the pizza. As soon as the food touches his mouth he feels ravenous, and he tears into it like a starved man. He drinks some tea to wash it down when he’s done before laying back down.

“How are you feeling?” Louis asks, running his fingers through Harry’s hair.

Harry closes his eyes and leans into the touch. “I’m tired.”

“Get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.” Louis tells him.

Harry watches Louis walk away, and the image of Louis’ ass is the last image he remembers before passing out from exhaustion.

 

✦

Harry is an alpha. _Harry_ is an alpha. _Harry_ is an _alpha._

The words chant in Louis’ mind over and over again like a mantra. If this would have happened just a few weeks ago, Louis would have freaked. He would have stayed as far from Harry as he could.

If it hadn’t been for that presentation Harry made in art class, talking about Troye Sivan and his bravery being an openly out male omega, Louis would probably still not be speaking to him. It made Louis realize that Harry isn’t like most, who judge people before getting to know them. Looking down at omegas, especially male ones as if they’re despicable. Harry has shown Louis that he’s nothing like that, and it gives him some sort of comfort.

Even so, Louis still can’t believe that Harry has presented as an alpha. Sure, Harry’s father has been expecting it, but Louis could tell that Harry didn’t want it.

He thinks about how there’s no way this isn’t going to change their friendship. How? Louis doesn’t know, but he does know that things will never be the same between them ever again.

These are the thoughts that float in Louis’ mind until he eventually falls asleep on his couch.

-

Louis wakes up in his mother’s bed. She’d gotten home and woken him up and Louis had explained that his friend felt sick so he let him stay in his room. When she’d woken up in the morning to go to work she let Louis move to her bed, and Louis had fallen asleep again as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Now that he’s awake again, he checks the time on the alarm clock on his mother’s dresser. It’s just past 10AM. Louis stretches on the bed, yawning and that’s when he smells it. The scent had been very faint last night, but today, it’s much stronger.

Harry smells like a mixture of brown sugar and vanilla, infiltrating Louis’ nostrils, making him almost moan at how delicious his scent is. Louis tries to get himself together, willing his dick to behave before he leaves his mother’s room.

Harry is sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea in his hand, and when he sees Louis, his face lights up. Louis doesn’t miss the way Harry’s nostrils flare, and his face heats up self consciously. He’s been so busy trying to care after Harry that he had forgotten to spray some scent neutralizer.

“Sorry.” Louis apologizes. “I’ll be right back let me just..” As Louis makes a move to go to the bathroom and take care of it, Harry stops him.

“Don’t.” Harry’s voice is deep and firm, Louis freezes on the spot. Harry’s eyes widen a little and his eyes shift, “I’m sorry. I mean, you don’t have to do that. I...I really like it...Your scent, I mean.”

Louis blushes again, and dammit. Is this how it’s always going to be between them from now on? Though really, it’s not much different, if he really thinks about it.

“Oh. Okay.” Louis says, moving to make himself a cup of tea as well. “How did you sleep?”

“Good. I mean as well as I could..” Harry trails off.

Louis turns to sit across from Harry. “What do you mean?”

Harry’s cheeks redden and he takes a sip of his tea. “Your scent was everywhere. It made it kind of hard to concentrate.”

“Oh shit. I’m so sorry.” Louis should have realized his mistake last night. He sometimes forgets he’s an omega, still trying to get used the slick dripping between his legs, and his pheromones are still all over the place. He almost has them under control, but with the events of last night, it has thrown Louis off, not to mention his own hormones as well.

“It’s okay. I passed out eventually. Tired myself out.” Harry admits, blushing.

Louis tries not to think about what Harry means by that, but his mind can’t help but picture Harry getting himself off to Louis’ scent throughout the night. His mouth goes dry and he squirms in his seat. He really needs to spray himself off before Louis gets turned on and it makes Harry go into another frenzy.

“Don’t worry about it Lou. I have to learn to control myself somehow don’t I?” It’s like Harry is reading his mind. But then again, Harry is an alpha now so he must be able to sense Louis’ feelings. Though, he thinks that only happens to couples who are mated.

“Right.” Louis takes a sip of his tea, letting the warmth of it trickle down his throat.

Harry stands up and washes his mug before putting it on the drying rack. “I should head home. I need to finish homework and read ahead for class since my rut is right around the corner and I’ll most likely be missing school for a few days."

Louis swallows hard, trying not to think about how he wants to offer helping Harry through his rut. Once alphas present, it takes them a few days for their hormones to adjust to their true gender. When they finally do, their first rut begins and it lasts a few days. Even less if they spend it with an omega.

“Okay. Well, call or text me if you need anything, okay?” Louis says, standing up to walk Harry out.

Harry stands in front of Louis and places his hand on Louis’ arm, squeezing it gently. It’s so warm, Louis wants to melt with the touch.

“Thank you. For everything.” Harry says. His eyes never wavering from Louis, he looks so sincere and soft.

Louis smiles, shrugging. “I’m just glad you’re alright, Haz. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”

Harry goes in for a hug, it’s tight and so so warm. Louis can’t help but nuzzle into Harry’s neck, taking a good whiff of his glorious scent to last him the rest of the day. Louis thinks Harry might be doing the same thing, but he isn’t sure.

“Goodbye, Lou.”

It has never hurt as much as it does right now to watch Harry walk away. And that just confirms Louis’ thoughts that things will never be the same between them.

✦

Harry is _always_ hungry.

His body must still be adjusting to the sudden change in metabolism because he wants to eat every piece of food he sees.

It’s been three days since he presented and he hasn’t stopped eating for more than five minutes. Celia packed a lot of snacks for him to take to school. He knows his body is just preparing for his first rut, but damn. His jaw aches from all the chewing he’s been doing.

Niall was elated when he heard the news about Harry, and he bought them each an extra tray of lunch to celebrate.

When Harry’s father had gotten back from his business trip on Sunday evening, he instantly scented another alpha in the house. Harry hated seeing the smug grin on his dad’s face when he realized it was Harry. He loaded Harry up with vitamins telling him that they would help him adjust easier, but Harry doesn’t really feel any different.

Harry’s senses are so heightened now, he’s finding it hard to concentrate in his classes. All the different scents that fill the room make him want to rip his nose off. He misses the days before he presented when he didn’t have to worry about any of this stuff.

One of the first things Harry did when he got to school on Monday morning was talk to the administration about his rut absences, and talking to his teachers about the work he was going to miss while he was gone.

Today is his last day of school this week before he’s on rut leave, and Harry can’t wait to get out of here. He has a headache from the mixture of everyone’s pheromones that permeate the air.

Louis has been really gentle with him this week. It’s a side of him Harry hasn’t really gotten to see, and he has to admit that he basks in it. He tells Harry not to worry about taking notes in art class, knowing how hard it has been for him to focus, telling him he’d take care of it and share the notes with him when he’s feeling better.

They haven’t hung out since Saturday, and Harry is okay with it for now because he doesn’t want to risk hurting Louis while he’s still trying to adjust to the new changes in his body. He doesn’t want his instincts to take over his mind and make him do something that’s out of his control. Louis has been as understanding as ever, and instead, they have Facetimed a few times. Louis distracts Harry by going on and on about the Night Owls’ next project, and listening to records and talking about their favorite bands. It feels like their friendship has advanced to a different level. One that is more intimate, with a lot more trust held between them.

“Don’t forget I won’t be in school for the rest of the week.” Harry reminds Louis when the last bell rings and they begin to pack up their things.

“Oh. Right.” Disappointment colors Louis’ face, he’s biting his lip as if he wants to say something else, but then seems to shake himself out of it. “You’ll call me when it’s over?”

“Yeah, definitely. I’ll probably be a shell of a man, just warning you.” Harry jokes. He’s heard how intense first ruts can be. Harry’s father even hired a nurse to monitor Harry to make sure he stays hydrated and eats. Harry didn’t think all of that was necessary, but of course, there’s no arguing with his dad.

Louis laughs. “Well then, I’ll see you...whenever. Take care of yourself, okay?” There’s concern in Louis’ eyes and Harry chuckles to brush it off.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

Louis doesn’t seem too convinced.

-

Harry is not fine.

As soon as he wakes up this morning, he’s lying in a pool of his own sweat and has a very hard erection tenting in his boxers. Harry isn’t a stranger to masturbating in his bedroom, but when it comes to being in a rut— especially your first one— his dick feels raw after just a few wanking sessions. He also uses a fleshlight that is supposed to help trick his body into thinking he’s fucking an omega, even letting him knot into it. His hand hurts already and his erection doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. As soon as his knot comes down, he’s hard again.

His nurse, Sylvia, comes in to check on him every couple of hours. As if being seen in this state isn’t embarrassing enough, he feels like a child being looked after.

Harry naps for a little bit, needing to regain his energy, but when he wakes up just a few hours later he’s reminded of his current predicament. He groans. His phone chimes and it serves as a temporary distraction. Harry looks over at the side table where his phone lies and sees that it’s a text message from Louis.

**_Listen to this. Hopefully it will help you to get through your rut.xx_ **

When Harry unlocks his phone, he clicks on the link Louis has provided. It sends him to the Spotify app and Troye Sivan’s ‘Blue’ begins to play, the music instantly making Harry’s muscles relax. He closes his eyes and takes in a deep breath.

_Swore I'd never lose control_

_Then I fell in love with a heart that beats so slow_

Harry wonders what made Louis choose this song to send to him. Could it be that Louis is trying to tell him something? He doesn’t dwell on it right now, though. Instead, he continues letting the music calm him down.

_I know you're seeing black and white_

_So I'll paint you a clear blue sky_

_Without you I am colour-blind_

_It's raining every time I open my eyes_

When the song is over, Harry feels lighter and more in control of his own body. He takes the fleshlight in his hand and brings it to his cock. He closes his eyes and sees Louis on his bed on all fours, slick glistening around his hole. Harry can almost smell his wonderful scent, the mixture of strawberries and honey and Louis. He growls, sticking his dick into the device and picturing himself entering Louis’ tight hole.

Fantasy Louis feels so warm around Harry it nearly takes his breath away. He can picture the way Louis would whine so pretty, begging to get Harry’s knot. Harry moans as he begins fucking into Louis, grabbing a hold of his hips and drilling into him. It doesn’t take long at all before his knot begins to swell, and Harry chases his orgasm to a full release. He shouts as he knots into the device, still thinking about Louis and picturing him being the one that’s getting knotted.

Harry opens his eyes and is brought back to his sad reality. He’s a panting mess and his body is covered in a layer of sticky sweat. He feels pretty pathetic now that he realizes what he’s just done. He covers his face with one hand and groans in exasperation.

The rest of Harry’s heat goes as well as a first rut can go, and by the end of it, he feels like he has run a marathon or something as equally exhausting. When he’s finally back to normal, Celia has a huge meal waiting for him and Harry doesn’t realize how famished he is until he tears into her roast.

After dinner, he decides to spend some time outside since he’s been locked in his room for almost four days now. The fresh air feels so good. Spring is starting to make itself known and the sun feels warm against his face. He decides to walk to the coffeeshop to see if Louis is working and to get himself a cup of his favorite drink.

As soon as he walks through the door he catches sight of Louis taking a customer’s order. His hair is recently dyed with streaks of blue that bring out his eyes. As he gets closer, he notices that he’s wearing blue eyeliner. He thinks about the Troye Sivan lyrics about painting a clear blue sky and his stomach fills with butterflies.

When Louis notices Harry his face lights up.

“Haz you made it out alive!” He yelps.

Harry giggles. “Hardly.”

He doesn’t even have to tell Louis his order as he’s already punching it into the register before Harry can say anything.

“That’s $4.50.” Louis tells him. Harry swipes his card and leaves a tip on the jar provided. “Your drink will be ready in a sec. Why don’t you go make yourself comfortable. You must be wiped.” He looks at Harry sympathetically before he gets to work on his drink.

Harry obeys, finding his favorite spot in the corner is unoccupied. A few minutes later, Louis is approaching him with two drinks in his hand.

“Here you go, love.” Louis gives him his cup and takes a seat right across from Harry. “So how did it go?”

Harry lets out a deep sigh. “It was...a lot, but it was fine I guess.”

Louis’ lips curve into a small smile.

“To be honest, I was pretty miserable up until I received your text. When I started listening to the song you sent it’s like it gave me the motivation I needed to keep going and push through.” Harry admits.

He can see the way that Louis’ cheeks pinken and Harry loves that he did that. Louis doesn’t say anything for a while, seeming lost in his thoughts.

“I just...it’s the song I listen to that reminds me of you. It brings me comfort so I thought it might do the same to you.” Louis finally says. His voice is more of a murmur, soft and airy.

Now Harry is the one blushing. “Well it worked. So thank you.”

✦

 

Louis doesn’t realize how much he really misses Harry until he sees him walk into the coffee shop once his rut is over. He looks so tired, with faint bags under his eyes but his glasses work well at covering them up. When their eyes meet, it takes almost everything in Louis not to run and jump into his arms like a person seeing their spouse come back from war.

As they sit and sip their drinks, Louis wishes he could sit on Harry’s lap and nuzzle into his neck to scent him. There’s still traces of Harry in his bedroom, and Louis will never admit that he’s gotten off a few times on one of the most delicious scents he’s ever experienced.

When Harry brings up the song Louis sent him he almost wants to tell him. He wants to tell him that the song is how Louis feels about Harry. It’s how he’s always felt about him, he just never really understood it until now. Could it have been that Harry presenting as alpha could have had something to do with Louis discovering these feelings? Perhaps. But it doesn’t stop his heart from beating faster every time Harry so much as looks at him. It’s all Louis can think about and he feels that he’s about to explode with it.

Louis checks the time and sees that it’s almost time to get back to work.

“What are you doing tomorrow after school?” Louis works himself up to ask.

Harry pushes his glasses up his nose and shrugs. “Nothing. My parents are leaving town in the morning again.”

“Do you want to hang out or something? I have to pass you all the notes you missed in art last week now that you’re more coherent.” Louis suggests.

“Oh that’s right. Yeah, why don’t you come over to my house after school. Maybe we can leave together? I’ll just tell Will not to pick me up.” Harry says.

“Sounds great.” Louis stands up and disposes of his empty cup. “I’ve got to go back to work, but it was good seeing you, Haz. I really missed you.”

Harry smiles, his beautiful dimple making its appearance. “I missed you too, Lou. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

And with that, Louis goes back to work. He’ll never admit that his heart aches a little when he sees Harry leave the coffee shop.

-

Louis wonders if there will ever be a time that he won’t miss Harry. First, he had to take a heat leave, making him miss school for an entire week. And now, with Spring just around the corner, Harry has been busy preparing for his spring concert, having no time to hang out with Louis. Harry has to stay after school and even practice on weekends, and the times he does happen to have some time off Louis in turn has a shift at the coffee shop. It’s like the universe is purposefully trying to keep them apart. He wishes he could pout about it to Harry, but he won’t because he knows how important orchestra is to him.

“What are you moping about?” Zayn distracts Louis from his thoughts. He’s at the library trying to do his homework and hanging out with Zayn when he’s on break.

“I’m not moping.” Louis tries to look affronted but he totally fails. He lets out a long exhale, “Nothing...I just haven’t hung out with Harry in a couple of weeks and I miss him, that’s all.”

Louis carefully looks at Zayn’s direction already knowing the kind of face his best friend is probably making. Sure enough, Zayn has the most cocky grin.

“You miss Harry, huh? Do you also want to kiss him? And date him? And have his babies? And— hey!” Louis throws a balled up piece of paper at Zayn to shut him up.

“Don’t you have some books to check in or something? Leave me alone!” Louis huffs.

Zayn laughs, “Admit it man. You got it bad for that baby alpha.”

Louis rolls his eyes. “And so what if I did? He’s cute, and sweet, and he has really good taste in music.”

Zayn scoffs, “Yeah, I’m sure it’s his taste in music you were thinking about during your last heat.” He teases, lowering his voice so nobody else hears them.

Louis slaps Zayn in the arm. “That’s the last time I tell you anything, you ass.”

So Louis might have had a few Harry induced fantasies during his heat so what. He can’t help what he thinks about to get him through it. He probably shouldn’t have told Zayn about it, though.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Zayn shrieks after calming down from his laughing fit.

“Just for that, you’re coming with me to the spring concert.” Louis tells him.

With a few nipple twists and a promise to buy him dinner, Zayn finally relented to accompany Louis to the spring concert held at his school. There’s a bit of a crowd and it’s a little overwhelming, but he sticks close to Zayn as they accept a program by one of the ushers and get seated. Louis has never been to any of these things, but he’s seen Harry play and if it’s anywhere close to that, he’s sure he will really like it.

The lights go down, leaving only the lighting on the stage. After a few moments, the velvet curtains rise up, revealing a full orchestra and their conductor. Louis strains his neck a little to try to catch sight of Harry. When he finally does, he can’t help but smile. Harry is wearing a fancy tuxedo with a black bowtie. He’s wearing his contacts— he’s been favoring them since he presented— and his hair is slicked back neatly.

The conductor taps on his music stand and raises his hands. All the members of the ensemble prepare their instruments, Harry raising his under his chin with his bow placed right on top of it. When the conductor begins swaying his hands the music begins.

Louis gets immersed into a trance of vibrant music that sucks him in from the very beginning. His eyes stayed glued to only Harry because he moves so fluidly, it’s like he’s dancing with his violin. He displays an air of confidence that Louis isn’t used to seeing from him and he finds that he really likes it— and finds it incredibly hot.

The orchestra plays song after song, and it’s like they’re throwing a welcome party for spring. Every song is upbeat and beautiful, like how Louis feels spring would sound if it were a song.

Before he knows it, everyone on the stage is standing up and taking a bow. The audience stands too, giving them a round of applause, and Louis joins them. He wonders if Harry can see him from where he is, but he doubts it. Louis didn’t tell him he was coming, wanting it to be a surprise. He even bought him a pink rose from the drug store since he couldn’t afford a full bouquet, but he hopes Harry likes it because it would make all the teasing he got from Zayn totally worth it.

The crowd begins to disperse from the auditorium, and Louis drags Zayn with him to try and find Harry. He finally sees him talking to a guy, Niall, who Louis has a class with. He approaches them carefully. Niall says something that makes Harry smile so big, his dimple is out. His eyes drift from the Niall over to Louis and he freezes. Harry blinks a couple of times as if trying to decide if it’s really Louis. Louis waves at him and walks closer to him.

“You clean up nice, Harold.” Louis tells him, offering him the pink rose.

Harry takes the flower, instantly blushing.

“Thank you, Lou.” He grins bashfully. Niall looks at Louis nervously, smiling at him tentatively. Harry seems to realize that they’re not alone, “Oh sorry! Niall, this is Louis. Louis, this is my best friend, Niall.”

“Hello. Harry hasn’t told me much about you. Seems like he wants to keep you all to himself.” Niall says.

Harry elbows Niall on his side. “Ow! What? It’s true!”

They all laugh, and Louis introduces Niall to Zayn, remembering also that he had brought his best friend with him.

“So, I was just telling Harry here that I’m absolutely famished. Would you guys like to join us for dinner?” Niall offers. Louis looks around and most people have made their way out of the auditorium. He also notices that Harry’s parents are nowhere to be seen.

“Sure. I owe this one dinner anyway.” Louis says.

“That’s right.” Zayn replies.

“Well then let’s go. Harry, since you did so well, you get to choose where we eat.” Niall says patting him on the shoulder.

They all make their way out of the building, heading their separate ways and agreeing to follow each other to wherever Harry decides to go.

 

✦

 

Louis came to see Harry perform. He still can’t believe it. He holds the rose that Louis gave him against his nose, feeling the soft petals against his skin.

“Hello?” Niall’s voice snaps Harry out of his thoughts.

“I’m sorry what?”

Niall huffs. “I asked where do you want to go. I’m getting hangry over here.”

Harry winkles his eyebrows. “Hangry? What the hell does that mean?”

“It’s when you’re so hungry you get annoyed and angry. Get with the program, Haz.” Niall rolls his eyes. “Now, where are we going?”

Harry chooses to go to a small hole in the wall restaurant that isn’t too far from the school because they have his favorite tacos. They all meet at the parking lot and enter the establishment together, and find a booth in the back corner. The waitress takes their orders and excuses herself. As soon as she walks away, Niall’s phone chimes.

“Haz, Logan Thompson is throwing a party at his place tonight. Do you wanna go?”

Unlike Harry, Niall is a social butterfly at their school. He’s friends with everyone, even the lunch ladies who always give him extra french fries for no extra charge.

“I don’t know Niall...I’m pretty tired.” Harry tries.

Niall isn’t buying it. “Oh come on, don’t be such a bore.” He turns to Louis and Zayn, “Do you guys want to go to a party?”

Louis and Zayn look at each other, having some sort of silent conversation with just their eyes until Zayn just shrugs. Louis turns back to Niall, “I guess we can make an appearance.”

Niall whoops. “See Harry, now you have to go,” he nudges Harry. Harry wants to strangle his best friend right now. But he’s right. If Louis is going, he wants to go. Any excuse to spend more time with him, especially since they haven’t had a chance to spend any time together lately with all the craziness from rehearsals he’s had the past week.

“Fine.”

-

The good thing is that Logan Thompson doesn’t live far away from Harry, so he can run to his room and change out of his tuxedo. He also has an escape plan just in case. Both Niall and Louis park at Harry’s house and they all walk down a couple of streets over to Logan’s house. The bass of the music is pouncing before they even make it to the front door.

It seems that everyone from Harry’s school is here. Niall grabs them all beers, and Harry tries not to wince when he takes a sip of his. He hates beer.

“Oh hey Josh!” Niall waves their classmate over. Josh is the captain of the football team who recently got accepted to Yale. Harry isn’t jealous, he really isn’t. Even though he’s still waiting eagerly to hear if he’s been accepted or not.

Josh walks over to them and waves to the group. “Oh hey Niall!” Niall introduces Zayn and Louis to Josh. He greets them both in a friendly manner. Even though Josh is the captain of the football team, he’s one of the nicest people in the school, and just second in their class after Harry.

Harry notices the way that Zayn blushes at the sight of Josh but he doesn’t say anything of it, just watches them as they talk. Louis seems to notice the same thing, looking at Harry and raising his eyebrows. Harry shrugs. He guesses he and Louis also have their own sort of silent conversations.

They lose Niall first when he gets called in for a game of flippy cup, and then they lose Zayn when Josh takes him to get another drink, leaving just Harry and Louis together.

“I didn’t think you were really the partying with your classmates type,” Harry tells Louis.

“Niall looked like he really wanted us to go, so I didn’t want to let him down.” Louis says. Harry gets caught off guard by that. Louis just met Niall, and already he’s doing nice things for him. Harry smiles.

“Harry, hi!” Becky Delaney pops out of nowhere, her arms raised and surging towards Harry. She has her arms around him before Harry can stop her. “Oh God, you smell so good!”

Becky is an omega who is in his Physics class. Ever since he presented, he’s had a lot more unwanted attention from the other omegas in his school. It drives Harry up the wall.

“Hey Becky.” Harry gently pushes her away from him, putting some space between them. When he looks over to Louis, he’s gone.

Becky keeps talking to Harry, not realizing that he’s too distracted trying to look around the room to see where Louis went. He sniffs the air, but there’s so many people, it’s hard to catch Louis’ scent in here. Harry wants to growl in frustration.

Harry excuses himself before going to look for Louis. He couldn’t have gone very far, Harry thinks. He manages to find him out on the balcony where a few other party goers are either smoking weed or making out behind the bushes. Louis is leaning over the balcony with a cigarette in his hand. Harry stands at a distance watching as Louis takes a hit of his cigarette and exhales it in the shape of smoke rings.

“That’s so cool,” he says without even thinking. Louis startles turning to look at Harry. The smile he had earlier is gone, and now he looks like he’d rather be anywhere else than here.

Louis doesn’t say anything, just taps on his cigarette to get rid of the ashes before he inhales the smoke again.

“Why did you leave me back there?” Harry continues.

Louis shrugs without looking at him. “Didn’t want to interrupt your moment with that pretty omega. She seems nice.”

Harry’s eyebrows pinch together. “What?”

“I’m just saying that now that you’ve presented, you can finally find your ideal omega to mate with, have lots of babies, and make your daddy happy, no?” Louis is using a tone of voice that he’s never heard directed at him before.

Louis’ words hurt more than he cares to admit. A small knot forms in his throat and he tries to swallow it down.

“I should go.” Harry mutters before turning to walk away. He makes his way through the crowd of people before finally leaving the same way they’d come in.

Harry walks home repeating Louis’ words over and over in his head. Can he not see that he isn’t interested in Becky or any other omega that throws themselves at him? Can he not see that the only omega Harry can’t seem to get out of his mind— the only one he’s ever fantasized about— is Louis?

As he’s about to unlock the front door to his house, Harry hears someone running towards him.

“Harry wait!” Harry turns around and is faced with a panting Louis who is bent over, hands on his knees.

“What do you want Louis? Did you forget to say something more hurtful?” Harry crosses his arms across his chest.

It’s dark out, but the outside house lights let Harry see Louis perfectly. Louis’ face falls and he runs his fingers through his hair.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said, at all. I just…” Louis’ eyes shift away from Harry.

“You just what?”

Louis gazes at Harry, his eyes saying something he can’t quite decipher.

“I was jealous okay? I couldn’t stand looking at that omega being all over you. Especially when I haven’t been able to scent you in weeks.” The last part seems to have come out of Louis’ lips unexpectedly because his eyes go wide as soon as the words leave his mouth.

Harry gets closer to Louis, so close they are just inches apart. Harry twists his neck, exposing the skin there for Louis to see.

“Go ahead.” Harry offers.

When Louis doesn’t make a move, Harry turns to look at him again. His face is all sorts of confused.

“I don’t understand what you’re doing.” Louis admits.

Harry doesn’t know where this surge of confidence has come from, all he knows is that he wants Louis and he’s willing to do anything to make it clear to him. He exposes his neck again.

“Scent me. I’m all yours, Lou. I’ve been yours since the moment you asked me to light your cigarette. I want to be yours forever.” Louis stands there, eyes wide and lips parted open, rendered speechless. Right as Harry is about to repeat himself, Louis surges forward, nuzzling his nose into the crook of his neck. He can feel Louis take a deep inhale, letting out a soft whine that he nearly misses if it weren’t for the quiet of the night. Harry lets him have his fill, basking in the feeling of Louis’ warm body so close to him.

After a few moments, Harry can’t wait any longer and  takes Louis’ face, pulling him closer to finally get his lips on his own. The kiss is soft and Harry takes his time licking into Louis’ mouth, hoping he can feel how much he wants him to be his only omega.

Harry reluctantly pulls away and Louis leans his forehead against his.

“I want to be yours too, Haz. Always have.”

They kiss again and Harry wraps his arms around Louis’ waist. He never wants to forget this moment, this night. The night that Louis became his omega.


	4. Chapter 4

Things evolve between Harry and Louis since that night they confessed their feelings for each other. For one, Louis joins Niall and Harry at lunch period. Harry tries to walk Louis to all of his classes, but Louis insists that just because they’re dating, it isn’t going to change the fact that he’s an independent omega who can go to his own classes. Harry reluctantly agrees, as much as he would like to spend all the time he can with Louis.

They resume hanging out after school when they can, though now those evenings also include breaks in between homework to makeout and get a whiff of each other’s necks. 

Louis is so fucking sexy. He always has been, in Harry’s opinion. But now that he’s got Harry’s scent all over him, he can’t seem to keep his hands off Louis. It makes it very hard to concentrate in art class, making Harry grateful that it’s the only class they share together.

Things move slow between them— excruciatingly slow. Harry is being patient, he really is. But he’s also about to get carpal tunnel with the hour long masturbation sessions he has as soon as Louis leaves his house. Part of the waiting on Harry’s part also has to do with the fact that he’s a virgin. He’s dated a few people here and there, but it never really got serious, and he never felt comfortable enough to be that intimate with them. Now, it’s all Harry wants to do— with Louis.

One day after school, Harry catches Louis sitting on the hood of his car smoking a cigarette. Harry approaches him, trying his hardest not to get hard at the way Louis puts the tip between his lips and hollows his cheeks to suck in the smoke. 

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Harry had forgotten a book in his locker that he needed and Louis had agreed to just wait for him in the parking lot so that they could hang out at his house after school.

“No worries, love.” Louis stubs his cigarette with his boot and they put their things in his trunk before getting in the car. When they get to Harry’s house, Louis uses his bathroom to change out of his school uniform while Harry does the same in his room, a ritual they’ve both become accustomed to.

They work on their homework first, and Harry finds it really hard to concentrate. He had convinced Louis to wash off the scent neutralizing spray when they were behind closed doors, but maybe it was a mistake. At least while they’re trying to do school work. Harry shakes himself out of his lustful thoughts and lets Louis pick the record they get to listen to— like he always does every time he comes over— and he picks the Radiohead album Louis gifted him for his birthday. They spend a little over an hour on their assignments, Louis finishes first, so he stands up to browse through Harry’s record collection again while he waits.

“When did you get Halsey’s new album?” Louis turns to Harry.

“My sister Gemma got it for my birthday. Put it on, it’s good.” Louis places the record on the player and carefully puts the other one away. Harry appreciates the way Louis is always so careful with his records, like they mean as much to him as they do to Harry.

“Eyes Closed” begins and Louis closes his eyes and begins swaying from side to side, getting lost in the beat of the music. Harry drops his pencil, knowing he has no chance of focusing now that Louis is moving this way. Louis twists his neck from left to right and slows down as soon as the music does too. When the beat speeds up again he circles his hips and snaps his fingers. Harry is entirely mesmerized by Louis’ movements, getting lost in the curves of his body and the lines of his toned muscles. His waist is so defined and petite. Harry catches a sliver of skin when Louis’ shirt rides up with his movements. 

Harry wants to have his mouth on Louis and leave his mark on his lovehandles. He stands up slowly, ignoring the very obvious erection between his legs, and moves to stand in front of Louis. When Louis opens his eyes again, Harry is standing just inches away from him with a soft smile on his face. Louis’ eyes look darker than they were just minutes ago, and he licks his bottom lip, knowing full well what he’s doing to Harry.

“Come on, Haz. Move with me.” Louis puts his hands on Harry’s hips and moves them to the beat of the music. Harry lets him, even though Louis’ hands feel like brands on his waist— burning through his clothes and skin.

Their eyes meet, the scent of their arousal permeating the air. Louis takes in a breath and slowly exhales. They both halt their movements, a pregnant pause makes time stand still. Louis stares at Harry, and Harry bites on his bottom lip trying to keep himself together— keep himself from coming unhinged. Then, it’s like a rubber band has snapped and they’re both surging forward and kissing, all teeth and tongues. Harry gasps, but his lips move in sync with Louis’ like they’re each other’s oxygen and need it to survive. Louis swipes his tongue along Harry’s bottom lip and Harry opens his mouth, inviting him in. Louis whines, wrapping his arms around Harry’s neck and Harry placing his hands on Louis’ waist. Their pheromones mix together, full of desire and want and creating an even greater scent. Harry can’t get enough of it.

“Lou. Bed. Now.” Harry’s voice croaks when they pull away. He doesn’t even recognize his own voice, so full of need for Louis.

Louis nods and they quickly climb up on the bed. Louis lays on his back and Harry settles himself between his legs, resuming their kiss.

“Harry. Fuck.” Louis moans between kisses. “I want you so much.”

There’s a low growl that comes out of Harry’s throat, making Louis whimper in response.

“Take off your clothes.” Harry commands. He pulls away to take off his own shirt and pants. He helps Louis get out of his tight skinny jeans. “Fuck. Look at you so wet for me.”

They kiss again, this time Harry’s hand makes its way down Louis’ torso. His fingers play with one nipple, pinching it gently before trailing them down. Louis moans when he feels Harry’s finger swipe some of the slick from between his legs, bringing the finger up to his mouth and licking it clean. It tastes even better than Louis smells, so sweet, and so Louis. Harry doesn’t think he’ll ever get enough of it.

“Fuck. You taste so good.”

“Harry.” Louis’ voice is desperate. He’s asking Harry for something but he can’t seem find the words to actually say them.

“It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you.” Harry’s voice is so gentle and firm, assuring Louis that he’s going to be taken care of.

Harry starts with one finger, pushing it into Louis slowly as he adjusts to it. He is so tight and so warm, Harry needs to take a moment so that he doesn’t pop his knot right here, right now. He isn’t ready for that, not until he takes care of Louis first.

Just as Harry is about to let himself get lost in the moment, lost in Louis, he feels Louis’ hand stop him.

“Harry, wait.” Another low growl comes out of Harry instinctively, but he quickly pulls away.

“What is it, Lou?” He asks, trying hide the whine in his voice.

Louis pinches the bridge of his nose. “We don’t have any type of protection.” The words feel like a bucket of ice water falling on top of them. Harry moves further away from Louis, a look of confusion on his face.

“You aren’t on birth control?”

Louis shakes his head. “Not yet. Been saving up for it. It’s expensive.” A look of disappointment colores his features.

Harry groans. “And I don’t have any condoms, either.” He murmurs. His father had offered to take him to the store to get them, but Harry would rather pop a knot in front of the entire school than go shopping for condoms with his dad.

They remain motionless for a few minutes, each of them trying to catch up with their hormones and the reality of the predicament they’ve fallen into. When they finally calm down, they get dressed.

“Maybe it’s for the best.” Louis begins.

Harry throws Louis a hurt look. “What?”

“No, not like that. I just meant that since it’s our first time doing this as what we are, maybe we need to plan ahead of time.” Louis explains.

Harry’s shoulders relax. “Yeah...yeah, maybe you’re right. It’s also….it’s my first time...like ever, so.”

Louis sits next to Harry on the bed once they’re fully clothed. He takes Harry’s hand in his.

“Then we have to make it really special.” Louis smiles.

Harry leans in to kiss Louis chastely on the lips, closing his eyes to breathe him in. Even though they’re fully dressed now, their scents haven’t subsided in the least. 

When they pull away, Louis says, “Let’s go outside or something. If I stay in this room for another minute, I’m going to tear your clothes off.”

“Ditto.” Harry responds before they stand up. “How about we go out to dinner? Take you on a proper date.”

Louis’ eyes crinkle at the corners with the way he’s smiling and Harry always wants to make him this happy. “I would love that.”

-

Harry should have brought Louis with him to buy the condoms. His anxiety is through the roof and it’s his third attempt at trying to get them. The first time he walked around the store trying to act nonchalant, but then the cashier gave him a weird look and he chickened out, buying a pack of gum instead. The second time around, Harry got as far as having the box of condoms in his hand. Just as he was about to head to the register, he saw his next door neighbor, Mrs. Rodriguez. In a panic, Harry shoved the box into an unknown shelf and walked out of the store trying his best not to be seen by her. 

This time, Harry is being smarter about things. He left the house with an excuse about going for an early morning run, but instead he’s at the store bright and early. Hardly anyone is out this early on a Sunday. Sure enough, the store is dead silent as soon as Harry walks through the entrance. He grabs the box of ribbed for the omega’s pleasure and strides over to the cash register. The cashier has a bored look on her face as she scans the box and gives Harry his total. Harry swipes his card, and the cashier puts the condoms in a plastic bag and hands it over to him. Harry walks out of the store feeling victorious. It’s finally happening. He’s going to lose his virginity to Louis Tomlinson.

✦

It’s been two weeks and three days since their almost first time. It’s not like Louis is keeping count or anything. Or maybe he just thought that Harry would get off his ass, get the condoms, and they’d be back in his bedroom a couple of days later. 

It’s also not like Louis has been dreaming and fantasizing about what it would be like to have Harry’s knot in him. Or like he hasn’t masturbated to the thought of getting marked by Harry. No, Louis hasn’t thought about it that much. 

Okay, it’s all he’s been able to think about.

Every time they spend time together, whether it be at Harry’s house or Louis’, there’s always that thought in the back of his mind.  _ Is tonight the night?  _ But nothing happens, and Louis feels the need inside of him intensify.

On Thursday after art class, Louis and Harry walk out of the school together.

“Hey Lou, I was thinking if you wanted to join me on an adventure tomorrow?” 

Louis loves this new confidence in Harry, though a part of him does miss the stuttery shy mess that he used to be. But, he would be lying if he didn’t think this new Harry— the one that isn’t afraid to tell Louis what he wants— isn’t hot as hell. He also loves that these little adventures have become a special thing between them.

“What kind of adventure are we talking about?” Louis asks, eyebrows raised in curiosity.

Harry grins mischievously. “You’ll just have to wait and see, now won’t you?”

Louis pouts. “Fine. I’ll join you. Just don’t get me killed.”

Harry cackles and puts his arm around Louis’ shoulders, kissing him on the cheek.

-

The next day after school Harry tells Louis to go home and pack some clothes for the weekend, but not giving away anything else. Harry lets him know that he will be picking him up at 5PM sharp.

With not much time to waste, Louis gets to work as soon as he gets home. He had already let his mother know that he would be away for the weekend with some friends. He grabs the empty duffle bag in his closet and packs it with a few outfits. Harry wasn’t very specific about the type of clothing he should bring, so Louis tries to use his best judgment on that.

Sure enough at five o’clock, there’s a knock on the door. Louis straps the duffle bag on his shoulder and answers the door.

“Hey, you didn’t have to come all the way up here babe.” Louis tells him, kissing Harry on the lips.

“Nonsense. Here, give me the bag, I’ll take it for you.” Harry offers.

As much as Louis wants to protest and show that he’s an independent omega that doesn’t need an alpha to do everything for him, the bag is pretty heavy and he doesn’t feel like carrying it down three flights of stairs, so he hands it over to Harry.

When they get outside, there’s a really shiny red corvette waiting for them.

“Is this your car?” Louis asks. He has never seen Harry drive on his own, in fact, Louis didn’t even know that he had his own car. But who is he kidding, Harry’s family has all the money in the world, it shouldn’t surprise him that he has his own car too.

Harry blushes. “Um yeah. My parents got it for me for my 18th birthday as some sort of coming of age gift. They know I hate driving, but they got it for me anyway.”

“If you hate driving then why did you bring your car?” 

Harry throws Louis’ bag in the trunk of the car where he can see Harry’s bag and some other things he can’t really make out before Harry shuts it closed.

Harry shrugs. “It would be kind of weird to have Will following us around all weekend to drive us everywhere, and you have no idea where we’re going so...I decided to suck it up and just do it.” He explains. He opens the passenger door for Louis, letting him get comfortable.

The car smells brand new. Louis bets that this is the first time Harry has ever driven it. He shakes his head fondly at his ridiculous boyfriend.

Once Harry gets in the car and the engine roars to life, Louis tries again.

“So now are you going to tell me where we’re going?” 

Harry completely ignores his question, of course, and instead shoves the iPod into Louis’ hands and says, “Do you want to pick our driving music?” And, well, Louis isn’t going to say no to that.

They don’t drive for more than an hour, Louis quickly realizing that they’re driving into the city as the beautiful skyline appears in the distance. Harry gets off on an exit downtown and end up in front of a very fancy looking hotel. Harry and Louis get out of the car, and a valet takes Harry’s keys reassuring him that their things will be taken up to their room. 

Harry grabs a hold of Louis’ hand and they walk inside the hotel lobby. There is a huge fountain in the middle with the front desks on the right side and the elevators on the left side. Louis looks around the grand space filled with abstract lighting and lovely artwork. Louis shakes himself from his trance when they get to the front desk.

“Hi. I had a reservation for Harry Styles.” Harry tells the front desk clerk, sliding over his ID and credit card.

The clerk types on her keyboard and confirms the reservation. Louis thinks about how if they would have tried to reserve a hotel just a few months ago they’d be denied on the spot. But alphas are allowed to do pretty much anything they please as soon as they present. They can drink, reserve hotels, and even rent a car. 

The clerk hands them their keycards and Harry thanks her before they turn towards the elevators. The elevators are made of glass, letting you see every floor as it ascends. Louis tries not to look down, not wanting to feel sick from it. When they finally land on their floor, Harry takes Louis’ hand and guides him towards their room.

Their room is very modern and spacious. There’s a king size bed, a TV that sits on top of a mini bar stocked with alcohol and snacks, and a desk.

“Wow.” Louis marvels. He’s never been in a place like this before and it’s taking his breath away.

A few moments later a bellboy arrives with their bags on a cart. Harry takes them and tips the man before closing the door and setting their things in the closet provided.

“Okay so, we need to get ready.” Harry says looking down at his phone. “We have to be at the arena in an hour.

“The arena?”

Harry smiles. “I got us tickets to see Troye Sivan.”

“You what?” Louis’ mouth falls. “Harry, oh my God!” He surges toward his boyfriend, who by some miracle manages to catch him.

Harry lets out a delighted laugh. “I take it you like this adventure?”

Louis kisses Harry all over his face before finally kissing him square on the lips. “I love it. So much.” Louis pulls away and stares at Harry, his eyes filled with something. “I love you, Harry.” He leans in to kiss Harry again.

Harry carries Louis to the bed and they fall unceremoniously onto it. 

“I love you so much, Louis.” They kiss, and they kiss some more until they run out of breath. Louis can feel the love radiating from Harry and he hopes Harry can feel his love for him too.

Reluctantly, they both pull away. As much as Louis would love to keep kissing Harry, they have a concert to get to.

They grab a quick bite to eat at the fast food joint across the street before they take a taxi to the arena. While they ride in the backseat of the cab, Harry takes Louis’ hand and they look at each other with smiles.

Everything feels so surreal as soon as they walk through the entrance. Their seats have a good view of the stage, and Louis is thrumming with excitement. The opening act is really good, and Louis makes a note to buy the band’s music later.

When the lights go down, the crowd roars and Louis can feel his heart beat increase. The music begins and a few moments later there is a purple curtain that lifts up, revealing Troye in front of a mic. 

Troye sings a few songs and Harry and Louis sing along to every single one of them. After “for him” he stops to address the audience.

“I’m so happy to be here tonight. I want to let everyone in this room know that I love each and everyone of you. No matter what gender, race, or religion, I love you as whoever you are.”

Louis and Harry look at each other, each displaying the same grin on their faces. Harry puts his arm around Louis as the next song begins. It’s “Blue”. They sway back and forth, and when Troye gets to the chorus, Louis is being pulled into Harry’s arms, Louis’ back to Harry’s front. Harry sings the lyrics to Louis against his ear and Louis basks in it.

They remain attached to each other for the remainder of the show. Louis loves how Harry’s warmth envelops him and getting to experience that along with Troye serenading them, well, he couldn’t have asked for anything more special in this moment.

The show ends way too soon, but Harry and Louis are filled with adrenaline as they head outside to get a cab. 

“That was amazing Haz. Thank you for bringing me.” Louis pulls Harry into a kiss.

They pull away and Harry stares at Louis, his eyes heavy lidded and beautiful. “I would give you the world if I could. You know that?”

Louis’ face heats up and instead of responding to that, he kisses Harry again— this time deeper, hoping his kiss can convey how much he loves him.

✦

Harry and Louis are still reeling from the concert when they arrive back at their hotel room. They keep talking about their favorite moments and Harry listens to Louis as he talks about how loved and accepted he felt being there. All in all, it has been a night to remember.

As they start to come down from their post concert highs, Harry starts to feel his nerves settle at the pit of his stomach. He’d planned this night for weeks, deciding that tonight would be the night— if Louis wants to, of course— that they would finally sleep together. As soon as Harry realized Troye would be in town he began to hash out his plan. He hasn’t missed the way Louis has seemed to be waiting for Harry to make the first move. As much as Harry really wanted to, he knew that he could wait just a little longer to really make their first time special. With their earlier declarations of love to each other, Harry knows that he made the right decision.

Harry gets a water bottle from the mini bar, offering one to Louis who takes it. They sit on the bed and rehydrate, and Harry knows this is his opportunity. When Louis gives Harry his empty water bottle, he places theirs on the side table before turning to look at Louis.

Louis’ hair is side swept and still a little sweaty from the concert. The blue streaks he has have been fading, but he’s still as gorgeous as ever. Louis remains motionless, as if he’s waiting for Harry to make the first move.

Harry leans in, licking into Louis’ mouth with purpose. Louis is warm and soft and just everything. He goes easily, slowly laying on the bed as Harry follows, hovering above him. They move to take off their clothes swiftly, not wanting to waste any time before they’re kissing again. This time, Louis is on top of Harry straddling him. Harry’s hands settle on Louis’ ass and he squeezes gently, eliciting a filthy sound from Louis. 

Their kiss gets hungrier, needier. And before they know it, Louis is grinding down on Harry. They both groan in pleasure, the feeling being too much and not enough at the same time. Harry flips them over so that he’s the one on top and between Louis’ legs. Louis giggles, and they continue kissing. 

Harry can smell the slick beginning to leak out of Louis’ hole and he growls. His finger travels down between Louis’ legs, as they continue moaning into each other’s mouths. He nudges his finger inside, and Louis’ hole stretches easily, instantly surrounding it with his delicious wetness and warmth.

“Fuck. Can’t wait to knot you, baby. Gonna knot you so good.” Harry whispers against Louis’ lips. 

Louis bucks his hips up involuntarily and Harry uses his other hand to keep him from moving. He watches, mesmerized, as he inserts a second finger into Louis. The slick is soaking the duvet beneath them, darkening the fabric. Harry lowers himself, wanting to be closer to Louis’ ass. 

“God you’re so beautiful.” Harry says, before licking Louis’ hole right between his fingers.

Louis whines so beautifully, Harry always wants to make him sound like this. 

“Please. I’m ready.” Louis begs. 

With one last lick between his ass cheeks, Harry pulls away, fumbling off the bed to find the condoms he had packed earlier today. He thinks that he maybe should have practiced putting on a condom before tonight, but it’s too late to think about that now. He quickly figures out how to wrap is around the base of his cock, leaving plenty of room for his knot. He climbs on the bed, Louis already bent on all fours, his ass up in the air, slick pulsing down his thighs. Harry’s mouth waters.

“Come on Harry.  _ Please. _ ” Harry wonders how needy Louis gets when he’s in heat if he’s this needy now.

“Okay, baby. I’m here.”

Without another word, Harry guides himself inside of Louis. This may be his first time, but it’s like his instincts spring into action, knowing just what to do to fulfill Louis’ needs. Inch by inch he breaches Louis’ hole, and Louis is a whimpering mess.

Louis’ head hangs between his shoulders crying out as Harry bottoms out. He gives Louis some time to adjust around him, knowing it’s his first time having an alpha’s cock inside of him. After he feels Louis relax, Harry begins to rock back and forth. He goes slow because he doesn’t want to hurt Louis, and he doesn’t want to pop his knot just yet. So he grips onto Louis’ hips, one hand on each side and fucks into him in one steady rhythmn.

“You feel so good, baby. Gonna feel so good around my knot, just you wait.” Harry says with each movement.

“Fuck. Yes. Knot me so good. I want it.”

Louis’ eagerness only riles Harry up more, increasing his thrusts until their balls slap against each other. The arousal seeping out of both of them fills the room, combining into a sweet and musky scent. Harry secretly hopes that people out in the hall can smell it, can scent that Louis belongs to him. The thought of that makes Harry moan louder, and he flips Louis onto his back entering him again before Louis can complain, and he’s fucking him into oblivion. Their chests rub against each other, adding pressure to Louis’ neglected cock, making him whine so prettily.

“Yes, yes, yes.” Louis is chanting like a prayer.

Harry brings Louis’ legs up nearly folding him in half, changing the angle to continue on his relentless rhythm. He can start to feel his knot forming at the base of his cock, so he changes to slower, longer thrusts.

“Mine.” Harry growls, leaning down to bite down on Louis’ neck. He makes sure it’s on the opposite side of where the bonding mark should be, still wanting to claim his omega.

“Yours. I’m all yours. My alpha.” Harry stops, and releases his knot. Louis shouts as Harry’s knot latches inside of him. Harry closes his eyes for a second, needing a moment since this is something he’s never experienced before. It’s a mixture of ultimate pleasure with a hint of pain, the most whole Harry’s ever felt being connected to Louis. He wants to stay like this forever.

Harry lays his head on Louis’ shoulder, catching his breath and spilling into the condom. He can only imagine what it would be like if they didn’t have a barrier between them and he filled Louis up with his come— and someday get him pregnant. Harry shakes himself out of those thoughts, his hormones trying to get the best of him. Instead, he inhales deeply against Louis’ neck, bathing himself in the wonderful scent they’ve created. Harry is sure Louis will be smelling like him for days.

Harry adjusts them on the bed so they can get comfortable while still being connected to each other. They say that the first time you knot an omega, it can take a while for the alpha’s knot to go down, so they wait patiently. Louis looks like he’s on the verge of passing out, so Harry covers his face with kisses.

“You did so well, baby.” Kiss. “Took my knot so good.” Kiss. “You look so beautiful all fucked out.” Kiss. “Love you so much.” Kiss.

That seems to bring Louis out of his little sex haze, and he giggles. “You’re an animal. I think you’ve killed me.”

Harry kisses him again.

When Harry’s knot finally goes down, so he pulls out of Louis. After Harry disposes of the condom, they decide to order room service. 

“They said it should take about twenty minutes. How do you feel about having a shower and letting me clean you up?” Harry asks Louis.

Louis is still laying on the bed looking all sorts of soft under the blankets. He smiles, his eyes crinkling and his cheeks pinkening.

“Sounds good.”

They hop in the shower and Harry makes sure that the water is the perfect temperature for Louis. He washes Louis’ hair, some streaks of the blue dye travel down his back with the water. He kisses Louis’ shoulders before turning him around to wash his body. As much as Harry is ready for another round, they need to hurry up since room service is supposed to arrive any minute, so they finish washing up. Harry gets out of the shower first, wrapping himself in one of the bathrobes the hotel has provided. He grabs the other bathrobe and helps Louis into it when he gets out of the shower.

“Oh that’s soft.” Louis says.

Just as they’re stepping out of the bathroom there’s a knock at the door. Harry opens it to let them in and bring the cart with food before making sure to tip the room service agent.

There’s french fries, pizza, and ice cream for dessert. Harry doesn’t realize how hungry he really is until he smells the pizza. He thinks he hears Louis’ stomach grumble as well, so he prepares him a plate with two slices and a handful of fries.

“Here you go. Eat up, babe.” Harry tells him.

Louis takes the plate with a warm smile. “Thanks love.” 

They sit and eat while they watch some shitty reality TV show that’s on MTV. Everything feels so comfortable, like he and Louis have been doing this their entire lives. Harry has never felt so right in the world next to Louis. Louis catches Harry staring at him so he just wrinkles his nose at him before looking back at the TV. 

Harry could get used to many nights like this.

✦

Louis walks out of the pharmacy with a triumphant smile on his face. He was finally able to save enough money to buy his birth control. 

When he gets home he takes a shower and stands in front of his full length mirror after drying himself off. He doesn’t see the finger imprints on his hips that used to be there, but it probably won’t be long until he gets them again. 

Excitedly, Louis opens the packet, pulling out one of the patches. He twists his waist so that he can have a good look of his backside. He peels the patch and carefully places it right above his right butt cheek. The patch blends with his skin tone, barely able to tell that it’s even there. 

Louis’ heat is supposed to come next week. He has already let the school know weeks in advance, but he still hasn’t told Harry. They don’t really talk about his heats. The last time Louis was in heat, Harry could smell it coming a couple of days before it happened but he just made a comment about his scent and moved on. Harry has been nothing more than a respectful alpha, giving Louis space when he needs it and not being so overprotective like he’s witnessed other alphas being with their omegas. 

The thing is, Louis wants Harry to ask to help him through a heat. Louis sometimes brings up his heat in conversation seeing if maybe it will motivate Harry to ask, but he doesn’t. Louis would say yes in a heartbeat if he did. 

So, Louis is planning on asking Harry, he just isn’t sure how. He and Harry love each other deeply and they have been dating for a while now. They’ve spent every free moment of time that they have together. Harry has practically become an unofficial member of the Night Owls. They’ve gone on dates, and when Harry got accepted into Yale— just like Louis knew he would— Louis was the first person Harry told. Louis took him out to celebrate with Niall and Zayn because he deserves nothing less for such an accomplishment. 

They’re obviously comfortable around each other and they can’t keep their hands off each other either. So why is Louis so nervous to ask Harry to help him through his heat? 

Anyway, he’s planning to ask him tonight when Harry comes over to hang out. Louis wanted to make sure he had his birth control set before he asks him so they won’t have to worry about condoms. The condoms are okay but Louis would love to feel Harry’s knot without a barrier, he gets wet just thinking about it.

So yeah. It’s a pretty important night for Louis and he’s hoping it goes well. He takes a deep breath and prepares to pick out the perfect outfit for tonight.

✦

“Hold still, Lou.” Harry puts his tongue between his teeth in concentration. He doesn’t want to get any of the aqua nail polish on Louis’ skin, if only he would stop fidgeting.

They’re sitting on the couch while Orange is the New Black plays in the background. Louis seems kind of off, and Harry isn’t sure why. He’s been very quiet, and Harry has caught him staring a few times, but Louis still hasn’t said what’s on his mind. So, Harry’s giving him time and he suggested painting Louis’ nails to help ease whatever tension that has seemed to build between them.

Harry flashes a satisfied grin. “All done.” He blows on Louis’ nails to help them dry faster, admiring his handiwork.

“Thanks, babe.” Louis says. He stretches his fingers out, eyeing his nails with a small smile on his face. His smile fades quickly and his eyes shift away.

Harry closes the bottle of nail polish and huffs. “Okay, what’s wrong?”

Louis’ eyes snap back to Harry, he nibbles on his bottom lip and sighs. “I want to ask you something. You can say no and I won’t be hurt or anything. But I just wanted to put it out there on the table, leave the ball in your court and all that.” He rambles.

“What is it?” Harry feels a pool of nerves at the pit of his stomach. He tries to calm them down, trying not to get too ahead of himself. 

Louis taps his newly polished nails on the coffee table, deep in thought. Harry can see the struggle in his head as if trying to decide the best way to say what he needs to say. A part of Harry wants to tell him to just spit it out, but the other part of him wants to wait as long as it takes.

Finally, Louis says. “My heat is due to come next week,” he begins. He licks his lips and looks up at Harry, eyes nervous. “Would you want to...do you want to help me through it?”

Harry isn’t sure what he was expecting, but he wasn’t expecting this. He feels breathless all of a sudden, his mouth dry and not able to find words. It’s just that...Harry would love nothing more than to spend Louis’ heat with him, but at the same time, Harry has never been with an omega in heat before and he’s afraid he won’t know what to do. Not just that, but also Louis would be too incoherent to help him make sure he doesn’t fuck anything up. It’s all just a lot for Harry to take in.

“Hello?” Louis’ voice snaps Harry from his thoughts.

“I’m...I’m sorry, I just wasn’t expecting you to ask that. I…” Harry swallows, his throat dry. He coughs and clears his throat. 

“It’s okay if you don’t want to Haz. I didn’t mean to spring this on you like this. Forget I ever said anything okay?” Louis rushes out.

“No, no, Lou. It’s not that.” Harry moves to the other side of the table to sit next to Louis. He wraps his arm around him pulling him closer. He takes a deep inhale of the crook of his neck smelling strawberries and honey and home. “I’d love to help you through your heat. I want it so much. Because I love you. I want you to be my mate.”

The last sentence comes out of Harry without even thinking. He slaps his hand over his mouth, his eyes going wide at his own words.

Louis’ lips part open, but he doesn’t look at Harry like he’s crazy. Instead, he moves Harry’s hand out of his mouth.

“What did you say?” He’s whispering, almost as if he’s afraid to ruin the moment between them.

Harry’s heart is racing, his ears are ringing and he almost feels like he did when he first caught wind of Louis’ scent. Like the world is spinning in slow motion. He gains his bearings and focuses on what Louis just asked.

“I said that I love you and I want you to be my mate. I know I sound crazy, I know it. Hell, just months ago I was making fun of Niall for talking about finding his mate. I didn’t know what I was missing out on back then, but now I know. I know what it feels like to have the love of your life, and I never want to let you go. You’re it for me Louis. I’m sure of it. I’m not one to gamble here. I’ve always planned every day of my life, but since you came into it, it’s been the best adventure of my life.” Harry feels out of breath after his little speech, but he’s glad it’s out there in the open for Louis to hear.

Harry’s eyes shift nervously in Louis’ direction and he’s grinning. “I told you that I’m yours and I meant it. I’d love nothing more than to be your mate.”

Before the words finish coming out of Louis’ mouth, Harry is on him, licking into his mouth.

“I love you. I love you so much.” Harry whispers against Louis’ lips before they’re kissing again.

Their kiss becomes all teeth because neither of them can stop smiling at how happy they are. Harry pulls away reluctantly.

“Before your heat comes, I think you’re gonna have to walk me through what you’ll need me to do because I don’t want to fuck this up.” Harry admits.

Louis chuckles. “I have a better idea.” He stands up from his spot on the floor and extends his hand. “How about I show you instead?”

Harry feels the heat of his arousal traveling to his dick. He’s up in an instant. “Well, I am more of a hands on learner.”

Louis snorts. “You’re ridiculous.” He pulls Harry along through the apartment until they get to his room. Harry has a feeling he’s going to love helping Louis through his heat.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Jeannie <3

Harry and Louis drive hand in hand in Harry’s car.

They decided to spend Louis’ heat in one of the heat facilities in the city so that they don’t have to worry about any of their parents walking in on them or scenting them.

“How are you feeling?” Harry asks for what feels like the hundredth time.

“The same way I was feeling when you asked five minutes ago, love.” Louis feigns annoyance but he really loves the way Harry is so attentive with him.

He knows it will only be a matter of hours before his heat arrives because his insistence on being an independent omega melts away and instead the need to be taken care of by his alpha takes over. It’s something Louis only allows to happen during his heats, he has already made that clear to Harry.

When they arrive to the facility, Harry gets their things out of the trunk before going inside to check in. The receptionist gives them their key and room number, letting them know their luxury heat room is ready. Louis glares at Harry for getting them a big fancy room after he had explicitly told him he just wanted something simple. Harry looks at Louis innocently and again, he’s only getting away with this because he’s already feeling a bit feverish and doesn’t have the energy to argue about it.

They get to their room and it’s even bigger than the hotel room they stayed in for the Troye Sivan concert. This room is practically a small studio apartment. There’s a fridge stocked with food and water, a master bathroom stocked with linens and shampoo and conditioner. There’s also a small kitchenette with a two burner stove, a sink, and a small two person table with chairs.

The bed is on the far end of the room. It’s bare except for the sheets and there’s a hamper for the dirty linens and a closet filled blankets and more clean sheets.  

Next to the closet is a small chest. There’s a note on top of it indicating that the chest contains toys the omega can use at their convenience for an extra charge. Thankfully Louis won’t be needing those.

“Do you like the room?” Harry asks.

Louis turns around to look at him with a smile. “It’s perfect.”

Harry doesn’t waste any time getting started on making them something to eat because he insists that they will need the energy before Louis’ heat really sets in. He makes grilled chicken with lots of vegetables and rice. He makes Louis eat everything on his plate, even going as far as using his alpha voice so that Louis can’t try to argue.

Louis doesn’t know if it’s the fact that his heat is right around the corner, but he really loves it when Harry isn’t afraid to embrace his inner alpha. Often times he notices that Harry holds back, probably because he wants to be as respectful as he possibly can, and Louis really loves him for that. But he also doesn’t mind those rare moments when Harry can’t help himself and uses his alpha voice to make Louis do something or when he gets a little rough in the bedroom. Just the thought of what Harry will do with Louis when his heat is in full swing makes his body thrum with anticipation.

Louis coughs to clear his mind from his thoughts and pushes his empty plate away.

“I’m going to take a nap. I need some rest before it all begins.” Louis informs Harry.

Louis takes off his clothes, knowing full well that he’ll be in heat by the time he wakes up. He grabs a blanket from the linen closet and lays on the comfortable bed. He feels like he’s laying on top of a cloud. It only takes seconds before sleep is taking over him.

✦

Harry is in the middle of washing dishes when Louis’ scent hits him like a freight train. It washes over him, so much so that Harry drops the plate he had in his hands and it clatters against the sink. He finds himself needing to grip onto the counter for support. He takes a deep breath, the scent burning wonderfully through his entire being as he looks over to Louis.

Louis is still sound asleep but stirring where he lays. This is Harry’s moment to do what they discussed. He can’t fuck this up.

Harry walks carefully over to the bed. A sheen of sweat is already covering Louis’ skin and Harry can practically taste every inch that covers his body. He tries his best to hold himself together, needing to keep himself somewhat coherent for the both of them. He removes the blanket away from Louis and Harry can already see how hard he is. Louis rolls over on his stomach, still asleep and his hips begin to move against the bed trying to get himself off. Harry lets him for now, needing to have a moment to prepare himself for what is about to transpire.

Harry removes his clothes and places them where Louis had thrown his earlier. He rushes to switch his glasses for contacts because he’s going to be doing a lot of sweating and he doesn’t need to be worrying about his glasses sliding down his nose and distracting him from his task. Harry is startled when Louis begins to make small noises as he rubs against the mattress. He sounds so desperate for it, Harry is already getting hard between his legs. Louis’ eyes shoot open as soon as Harry climbs on the bed.

“ _Harry,”_ Louis whines. “Harry, I need you. Please.”

Louis’ mouth hangs slack, his lips rosy pink and slick with spit. His eyes are glazed over and dark. These are the darkest Harry has ever seen Louis’ eyes. He shakes himself out of his Louis filled haze and springs into action.

“I’ve got you, baby. I’m right here.” Harry croons. Louis’ body relaxes as soon as he hears Harry’s voice. A small smile curves on his lips. He rubs Louis’ arm, his skin so velvety smooth, Harry wants to have his mouth all over it. So he begins.

Harry turns Louis over on his back. Louis goes willingly, whining desperately and making grabby hands at Harry’s cock. Any other day Harry would chuckle at Louis’ desperation, but right now there’s no time for teasing his boyfriend. His omega needs him and he’s been trusted with the task to take care of his needs.

Louis’ face is flushed, his cheeks pink, and he’s moaning for Harry to hurry up. Harry takes Louis’ face and kisses him desperately, licking into the seam of his lips. Louis groans when Harry nibbles on his bottom lip, taking it between his teeth and sucking on it. Harry works his way down to Louis’ neck, getting a good whiff of Louis’ heat filled scent. It’s so much more potent than Louis’ every day scent. Harry wants to bathe in it for the rest of his life if he could, always wanting to smell like strawberries, honey, and _his_ omega. Harry takes his teeth and latches onto Louis’ skin lightly. He isn’t going to bond them just yet but he still wants to get a taste. He works his way down to Louis’ nipples, taking each one of them into his mouth and sucking them. Louis yelps, pushing himself off of the mattress wanting to chase the feeling of Harry’s mouth.

“Harry please. I want your knot. I need it so much, baby, _please_.” Louis babbles.

“You’ll get it love, I promise. Need to open you up a bit first.”

Harry spreads Louis’ legs on the bed and his scent is even stronger there. The slick pulsing out of Louis like a faucet. Harry finds himself drooling, and he wipes at his mouth before he begins to finger Louis. It doesn’t take long at all because Louis’ hole is practically prepped. Harry wonders if that’s also part of an omega’s heat, to make it easier for them to take the alpha’s knot.

Harry’s dick twitches thinking about how in just a few moments, he’s going to be knotting Louis without a barrier between them. They’re going to be mates. For life.

Harry is getting desperate for it now too, so he tugs on himself a couple of times and nudges himself against Louis’ hole. He takes Louis’ legs and positions them over his shoulders to get better access. His cock slips inside of Louis so easily it catches him off guard and nearly takes Harry’s breath away. He finds himself needing a few seconds to get himself together. When he’s finally ready, he fucks into Louis in a steady pace.

Louis is spilling all over his chest after just a few thrusts from Harry. It’s mesmerizing to watch, and he looks so gorgeous with his sweat slicked hair and his flushed cheeks. It doesn’t take much longer for Harry’s knot to begin expanding at the base of his cock.

This feeling, knotting an omega— _his_ omega— bare for the first time is one of the best feelings in the world. Harry thought he had already experienced the best things with Louis but he couldn’t have been more wrong. He feels connected to Louis in a way he’s never felt before, like they’re one being. Harry cries in absolute bliss, his knot latching itself inside of Louis. They both groan and it’s a little painful, but more pleasurable than anything. Harry lays on top of Louis for a few moments trying to catch his breath. They might not have been fucking very long, but that took so much out of him and it’s only the beginning.

Louis is hard again before Harry’s knot has even gone down, so Harry works on jerking Louis off while they lick into each other’s mouths. It’s wet and warm and hot as hell, and before long, Louis is coming again all over Harry’s hand.

When Harry’s knot has finally gone down and he pulls out of Louis, Louis is hard _again_ , but he doesn’t do anything about it yet. He jumps off the bed and grabs them a couple of water bottles making Louis drink at least half with promises to knot him as many times as he wants.

When Harry returns from disposing of the water bottles, he comes back to find Louis on all fours. Harry gets dizzy with the wave of Louis’ scent that hits his nostrils, and a growl escapes at the base of his throat. In seconds he’s on the bed, licking the sweat off Louis’ creamy, warm skin. He sucks a bruise right between Louis’ shoulder and neck, leaving teeth marks, wanting nothing more than to claim his omega and show everyone who he belongs to. Harry drags his lips down Louis’ spine, leaving a trail of bites like clues on a treasure map. Louis’ skin tastes like a mixture of salty and sweet as he trails his tongue down his milky smooth skin.

Louis’ back muscles constrict at every sensation of Harry’s mouth, creating beautiful ridges on his back. Harry continues working his mouth along his back until he lands right between the dimples at the bottom of Louis’ spine. He licks and nibbles at them, leaving more bites and bruises until he settles himself in front of Louis’ ass.

Harry licks his lips in hungry anticipation. Louis’ scent is the best from this position. He may not have ever seen an omega in heat before, but it’s one of the most beautiful things he’s ever witnessed. Louis’ swollen pink hole is dripping and glistening in sweet slick, coating parts of his ass and both of his thighs. Harry leans in and drags his tongue from the bottom of Louis’ thigh, all the way up to his balls. He uses his hands to spread Louis open to lick into his sweet tasting hole. Harry laps up the slick, getting it all over his mouth and cheeks, but he doesn’t care. He feels the need to lick up as much slick as he possibly can, his head swimming in the sweet strawberry scent of Louis, his love, his omega. Harry moans into Louis’ hole and he can hear a faint whine slip out of Louis’ lips, but his ears are ringing so much he can’t really hear what’s happening around him. He feels like he’s on a mission to eat Louis out to his heart’s content. Louis bucks in need and frustration shoving his ass into Harry’s face. Harry grabs onto Louis’ ass harder, hoping to leave bruises behind to remind Louis of this moment.

“More, Harry. I need more!” Louis is a sobbing mess, his body trembling with need.

Harry snaps himself out of it, and licks his lips, wiping up the slick dripping off his chin.

“Okay, baby...okay.”

This time, Harry just slams into Louis needing to feel enveloped in his omega’s wet warmth. His head swims with arousal as he fucks into Louis again and again. His thrusts become erratic and rushed.

“Yes, yes, yes, yes.” Louis chants with every thrust. It only makes Harry want to work harder and faster to knot Louis how he wants it.

“Gonna knot you so good, baby. Gonna show you who you belong to.” Harry pants.

Harry is usually not the possessive type, but when Louis is like this, he can’t help but let it overcome him. He slams harder into Louis, their hips slapping against each other and making the most obscene noises. Harry loves being buried inside of Louis like this, making these noises spill out of him. Harry can begin to feel his knot forming, so he decides that this will be the moment.

The moment Louis becomes Harry’s mate. His omega.

Harry pulls Louis closer, making him sit on his cock so he can get better access to his neck. He wraps his arms around Louis’ waist, drilling into him hard and fast.

“Gonna make you mine, Lou. All mine.” He rasps in Louis’ ear.

Louis moans and nods his head. “Yours. Wanna be yours.”

With one hand, Harry takes Louis’ head and tilts it so that he can get better access to the spot of his neck that he needs to mark. It’s located right by his pheromone gland, Harry remembers from Sex Ed. Harry takes a deep inhale, surrounded in Louis, all Louis, and he latches onto that spot. He bites harder than he did before, knowing that he needs to in order to make sure the bond mark becomes permanent. At the same time, Harry’s knot connects with Louis, coming hard inside of him. Louis yelps, his hand reaching up to grab hold of Harry’s arm as if holding on to dear life. Harry continues to suckle and bite until he feels the mark will hold. He pulls away and licks over the spot before dropping a gentle kiss on it to seal the bond.

Harry lays them in a spooning position on their side to get more comfortable. He reaches over Louis to finish him off and it only takes a few more tugs before he’s spilling on the bed and on Harry’s hand. Once they’re both completely sated, Harry wraps his arms around Louis’ torso, kissing his shoulder blades and the back of his neck.

Louis seems to have passed out, completely exhausted from their activities so with that, Harry lays his head on the pillow. According to what he has learned about bonding, Harry’s mark will appear on his own neck overnight. Louis will have to bite into it in the morning to make it permanent, and Harry can’t wait to see how it looks against his skin.

“I love you, Lou.” He whispers laying one last kiss on Louis’ back before his eyes droop shut.

✦

Louis’ eyes flutter open and his eyes squint at the brightness in the room. The sunshine is leaking through the blinds right on Louis’ face. He moves out of the light’s way when he feels a dull ache on his neck. Louis freezes. Slowly, he reaches his hand and trails his fingers against the mark on his skin. Louis grins.

He and Harry are bonded, they’re now mated.

Louis turns around to wake Harry up, but he isn’t there. His side of the bed is still warm, so it must not have been very long since he left but his heart still twinges for his alpha.

Louis wonders how long his heat lasted. He’d check, but his phone is on the opposite side of the room with all of his things and he’s feeling way too warm and cozy to make a move.

Instead, he lays his head on Harry’s pillow. He sniffs the lingering scent of his alpha and closes his eyes. Louis wonders what will be different now that they’ve officially mated— other than the obvious mark on his neck. Louis has heard different stories, but he has also heard that it varies by couple. Other than the soreness on his neck and bottom, Louis doesn’t feel that much different, even though _everything_ has changed.

A few minutes later, Harry walks through the door, and as soon as he does, there’s a warmth that envelops Louis’ heart. The feeling is so strong, he feels his eyes tearing up.

Harry drops what he has in his hands on the table— a tray with two paper cups and a brown paper bag— and rushes to Louis’ aid.

“What’s wrong, love.” Harry’s eyes look so worried, like he’d move heaven and earth just to make Louis happy. Louis believes that he would, too.

Louis wipes at his eyes and shakes his head. “Nothing, nothing. I just love you so much, that’s all.” He sniffles. He feels ridiculous for this wave of emotions, but it must be part of this new bonding high he must be on. His hormones are probably still adjusting to the changes in his body.

Harry leans in to kiss Louis on his forehead. “I love you too, baby. So much.” He kisses Louis on the lips this time. If it weren’t for the ache in his ass and his muscles, Louis would be pulling Harry on top of him to show him how much he really loves him. But he doesn’t this time, instead, he kisses his alpha more fervently.

When they pull away, Harry studies Louis’ face. “How are you feeling?”

Louis lets out a yawn, stretching his limbs on the bed. “I’m good. How long was I in heat?”

“Two days.” Harry tells him as he goes back to grab the items he’d left behind to check on Louis. He hands one of the paper cups over to him, and Louis takes it gratefully.

“Two days? Wow. That was short.” Louis takes a sip of his drink and hums. “Mmm. this is delicious, thank you.” He says.

Harry smiles, dimpling so big. “Anything for you. I also got you a breakfast sandwich. Thought you’d want something more greasy when you woke up.”

As if on cue, Louis’ stomach growls. “Yes please.”

Louis climbs off the bed. His body protesting as soon as his feet hit the floor, but he pushes through as he bends over to grab his sweatpants and t-shirt before joining Harry in the kitchenette. They sit and tear into their food. Harry has a pile of sandwiches in front of him.

“Hungry, huh?” Louis says, his eyebrow quirked at Harry.

Harry is already halfway through his second sandwich when he pauses, his mouth still full of food. He shrugs, “I’m a growing alpha. What can I say?”

They both giggle and continue to eat.

As Louis finishes off his sandwich, his attention gets caught by the mark on Harry’s neck. Louis pauses.

“Is that…” He points to the mark and Harry subconsciously touches it.

Harry’s cheeks pinken. “Yeah. When I woke up it was already there.” He tells him.

Louis licks his lips. He knows that part of the bonding between alphas and omegas is getting marked by your partner. But actually getting to see it in the flesh, it makes Louis’ entire body flush.

“Can I?” Louis wants to get his mouth on it, seal the deal and mark Harry permanently and claim him.

Harry nods eagerly. “ _Please_.”

Louis doesn’t need to be told twice. He jumps from his chair and walks across the table to Harry, sitting on his lap and wrapping his arms around his neck. They don’t say anything, instead, Harry stretches out his neck, exposing it for Louis, reminding him of the first time Harry confessed his true feelings for him. And Louis dives right in. His teeth sink into Harry’s soft skin, and he sucks on the spot harder than he normally would. After he feels it’s good enough, he pulls away and kisses the reddened spot.

“There. Perfect.” Louis says. He kisses Harry on the lips. Their kiss turns heated quickly, and before they know it, Harry is fucking Louis on the kitchen table.

When they finish, Harry carries Louis while they’re still connected to the bed and they snuggle while they wait for Harry’s knot to go down.

“So what now?” Louis asks. He knows that there are still some things they need to talk about, and there isn’t a time like the present.

“What do you mean?” Harry asks, reaching to move some of Louis’ fringe from his eyes.

Louis sighs. “We’re mated now, right? But we still live with our parents.”

“Right. Yeah.” Harry says. “But graduation is in a few weeks. We can get our own place in Connecticut. You decided to take a year off right? I can go to school, while you do whatever it is that you want to do. I’ll make sure you’re taken care of, Lou.” He kisses Louis on his forehead. “You won’t need to worry about anything when you’re with me.”

“Yeah.” Louis leans his head against Harry’s chest, closing his eyes. He can hear the rapid beat of his alpha’s heartbeat and it instantly soothes him. “I’d love to live with you.”

Louis feels warm, and safe and _whole._ It’s a feeling that makes him feel like he’s soaring. Like he’ll do anything to protect what he has if anything or anyone would ever try to come and destroy it. A sinking feeling settles in the pit of Louis’ stomach at that thought so he takes a deep breath, calming himself with the scent of his mate. His alpha.

 

✦

Harry doesn’t realize how difficult it is to live without a mate until he has to. It sounded a lot simpler in his brain when he thought about it, but now that he actually has to live through it, it feels like hell. And he isn’t even being dramatic.

He still tries to spend as much time as possible with Louis, but when the nights come and he’s forced to go home or Louis has to head home, it’s one of the hardest things he’s ever done. They’ve done the best they could— Harry scent marked Louis’ room to help him sleep better at night and Louis gave Harry his favorite hoodie to sleep with, but it’s just not the same as having your mate in your arms, smelling the top of their head as you sleep.

The first few days were the worst, often times Harry would toss and turn and text Louis every five minutes to help him get distracted from his thoughts of wanting to just sneak out of his house to be with Louis. He can’t wait until they move in together, Harry is already counting down the days.

They both decided they would talk to their parents after graduation, not wanting to stir anything up before they had to. Harry knows his father is going to have a fit and he’d like to avoid that as long as he possibly can. The only people that know they’ve bonded are their best friends Niall and Zayn. One Saturday, Niall and Zayn surprised them by taking them out to eat and celebrate. It was a really nice gesture, and Louis and Harry basked in all the attention their friends showered them with.

Graduation is only a week away, and Harry is anxiously waiting for Louis to show up so they could finish their final project for art class. It’s been about an hour since they last saw each other, but to Harry it might as well be a year. He keeps checking the time on his phone every chance he gets.

When Louis finally arrives, Harry feels like he can finally breathe again.

They spend a good amount of time greeting each other by kissing and scenting one another. It almost leads to more, but unfortunately, Louis stops it before it can go any further. Louis picks out a record for them to listen to— One More Light by Linkin Park— and they get to work.

Louis is sprawled out on the floor with papers, paints and flower petals scattered everywhere. Harry smiles to himself as he watches how he carefully glues petals onto his canvas, his tongue sticking out between his teeth. He loves how attentive he’s being about it, showing how much he cares that he does well on his assignment. Harry can’t help it, he pulls his phone out and snaps a picture of his omega. The sunlight reflects against the side of his face just right, he looks absolutely breathtaking. Harry doesn’t waste any time making the photo the home screen on his phone.

Louis seems to feel the heat of Harry’s gaze because he’s caught staring and he can’t even be sorry about it.

“What?” Louis asks, his eyebrows pinching together.

Harry shakes his head. “Nothing, love. Nothing at all.” He focuses back on his own project and tries his best to stop ogling his omega.

-

“I looked at jobs in Connecticut today.” Louis murmurs. They’re laying on Harry’s bed, Louis’ head on Harry’s lap as Harry runs his fingers through Louis’ hair.

Harry’s hand freezes. “You did?”

“Mmhm. Thought I would get a headstart on things, you know? Don’t want to be mooching off my alpha. I want to get my own job and help contribute as much as I can.” Harry resumes playing with Louis’ hair.

“You wouldn’t be mooching, baby. You’re my mate. I want to take care of you, but I also understand if you want to find a job and help out. I’ll be happy with whatever makes you happy.” Harry tells him.

Louis looks up at Harry with a playful smirk. “You know what they say. Happy mate, happy life.”

Harry rolls his eyes fondly at Louis. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”

Their little bubble gets broken by the sound of Mr. Styles’ booming voice calling for Harry. Both Harry and Louis jump.

“Shit that’s my dad! He was supposed to be traveling to Paris tonight. Fuck.” Harry doesn’t have time to do anything before his father is opening his bedroom door without even knocking.

Harry and Louis are standing a few feet from each other looking like deer caught in the headlights.

“Harry, I…” Mr. Styles pauses as soon as he realizes that Harry isn’t alone in his room. He scans the bedroom, as if trying to find something out of place before his gaze shifts to Harry, then Louis, then back to Harry again. “Who is this, Harry?”

The coldness of Mr. Styles’ voice makes Harry’s stomach drop. “Um..dad, this is Louis, my classmate. We were just working on our final project for art class, we were paired up together.” He stutters out. He fidgets with his glasses chancing a glance at Louis who is standing a couple of feet away with his hands shoved into Harry’s hoodie. Harry hopes his father doesn’t recognize it. “I...I thought you were going to Paris?” He attempts to change the subject.

“The flight got cancelled,” he says. His eyes still staring daggers in Louis’ direction. Harry holds back a growl, wanting nothing more than to stand in front of his omega and protect him. It’s taking everything in him not to make a move. Harry thinks he sees his father’s nostrils flare, and he takes a deep breath. He can smell the fear in Louis, and it’s making it even more difficult for Harry not to do anything.

“Did you need something, dad?” Harry tries to shift the attention to himself wanting to get his father out of here as soon as possible.

Finally, Mr. Styles looks at Harry. “Dinner is in ten minutes. I expect your little...classmate to be on his way.” He doesn’t acknowledge Louis at all, instead he turns around without shutting the door behind him.

Harry lets out a deep exhale. “I’m so sorry, love.” He rushes over to wrap Louis in his arms, kissing him on the forehead.

“Don’t worry about it, Haz. I was actually expecting my first encounter with your dad to be a lot worse, if I’m honest.” Louis tells him, his face buried in Harry’s chest.

Harry pulls away to look at Louis. He leans in to kiss him softly on the lips. “Soon we won’t have to worry about him at all,” he assures him.

Louis hums. “Yeah. You’re right. Just a little while longer.”

Harry embraces Louis for a bit longer before Louis insists that he should head home. Harry reluctantly lets him. He was hoping to be spending more time with his omega, but his father had to ruin those plans and now he’s having to say goodbye much earlier than he expected.

-

The tension during dinner this evening is nearly unbearable.

Harry’s father hasn’t said a word since he showed up for dinner. They eat in the most deafening silence Harry has ever experienced. He’s afraid to break it for anything, so he just continues to sit quietly, eating his filet mignon, trying not to make a sound while he tries to cut through it.

“I want you to end it with that boy, Harry.” Mr. Styles commands. His voice is so stern, it echoes through their dining room.

Harry drops his fork in surprise. “What? I’m not…”

“Don’t you dare lie to me! I’m an alpha just like you. Did you not think I wouldn’t be able to smell you two? That omega had your scent all over him, you might as well have put a sign around his neck that said ‘Property of Harry Styles’.”

“But dad..”

“No! I won’t hear it. You can’t be with a male omega Harry. I won’t allow it. You need to end it, right now! In fact, go to your room and call him to tell him you can’t see each other anymore.” Mr. Styles says.

Harry’s heart is racing, his throat burns like acid and he feels like he’s going to throw up. He can feel the anger radiating through him and he wants to fight back. He wants to tell his father that he isn’t going to do that, that in fact, he and Louis are bonded and planning on moving in together as soon as they graduate. He wants to tell him that he’s not going to allow him or anyone to come between them. But he doesn’t do any of that. Harry knows it would be futile. Instead, he stands up and walks away to his room. Once he moves out, he isn’t going to have to worry about his father trying to dictate his life. But for now, he has to hold on just a little bit longer.

-

Graduation day is finally here and Harry feels like a huge load has been lifted off his shoulders. His Valedictorian speech goes really well, and the entire class get their diplomas. Harry and Louis share several looks from across the room, and all feels right in the world.

Harry obviously didn’t end things with Louis. He did lie to his father and told him he did, but they have just been more careful, spending most of their time at Louis’ place. All the hiding is almost over, though, because Harry and Louis are planning to move to Connecticut in just a few weeks. Harry found them a small one bedroom apartment close to campus and things are finally in motion to get things going.

They’ve planned to talk to Louis’ mom tomorrow, making sure she would be home so that they could sit her down and tell her the news that they’ve mated. Louis insists that she will be nothing but supportive because he says she’s always been, so Harry isn’t too worried about it.

Harry and Louis can’t really interact after the graduation ceremony since his parents and sister, Gemma have all come to see him get his diploma, and are now taking endless pictures with him in his cap and gown. They agreed that they would meet later tonight after Harry gets home from his celebratory lunch with his family.

Lunch is as good as any meal could be with Harry’s father. His sister asks him about Yale, and Harry happily goes on and on about the program he’ll be a part of in the fall. Harry’s father is surprisingly quiet, and he thinks it’s probably because of the Yale talk. Mr. Styles hasn’t really tried to fight the fact that Harry decided to go to Yale over Northwestern after all the arguments they’ve had and Harry is grateful that his father is finally letting him choose the university of his choice.

When they get home, Harry’s father asks him to meet him in his study. Harry thinks his dad is probably going to give him his graduation present along with a long lecture about his future. It’s probably going to be the same lecture that Gemma got when she graduated and their father gifted her a brand new Macbook with her name engraved on it.

Harry goes to his room to get rid of his cap and gown and to get into more comfortable clothing, not knowing how long this conversation with his father is going to be, but he guesses it will feel eternal. When he’s ready, he walks down the hallway to the opposite side of the house pausing right in front of his dad’s study. The door is shut, so he knocks on the polished wooden door.

“Come in,” his father calls from the other side, and Harry lets himself in. His dad is sitting behind his desk with his hands folded. “Sit down, Harry.”

Harry does as he’s told and sits right across from his father. He hopes this doesn’t take long because he’d promised Louis that they would meet as soon as he got back from lunch.

“What’s up, dad?”

Mr. Styles takes a deep breath and looks down at his desk. He takes a piece of paper and hands it over to Harry. Harry takes the paper and sees that it’s a check. A check for an insane amount of money. However, the ‘pay to the order of’ section is blank. Harry’s eyebrows scrunch.

“What…” Before Harry can ask, his father is interrupting him.

“This is a check for the tuition for your university. That should cover all four years, including books, room and board, and more.” He says.

“Okay…” Harry is still unsure why the check isn’t made out to Yale University.

“Listen, Harry. I made it very clear that I wanted you to end whatever it is that you have going on with that boy, but I see that you disobeyed me. And you lied to me.” Harry swallows hard. He doesn’t even want to begin to think how his father knows this. Instead, he continues to listen. “Now, if you continue to choose to defy me, I’m going to have to put my foot down. If you decide to continue fraternizing with that male omega, I can’t do anything about that. But what I will do, is that I will refuse to pay for your tuition to Yale. I’ll only pay for you to attend Northwestern.”

“But, dad…”

“ _If_ you end things with the omega, you get to go to the school of your choice. I’ll sign that check and give it to you to keep and you can go to Yale, or wherever it is that you want to go. But _only_ if you end it with the omega.” Harry’s father finishes talking and he leans back against his chair with a smug look on his face.

Harry’s heart is racing, his breathing is becoming more erratic. He wants to shove everything that’s on top of his father’s desk and throw it all over the floor. He wants to break things. He wants to scream.

Instead, what Harry does is he stands up from his seat, straightening up his posture. He takes the check in his hands and rips it up into little pieces and throws them like confetti.

“I don’t need your money, and I don’t need your approval. I don’t need you in order to be happy.”

And with that, Harry turns around and walks away, renouncing his wealth, and his father.

✦

Louis lies in his bed listening to his favorite Radiohead album at full volume. He checks the time again and sighs. Harry was supposed to be here a while ago and he hasn’t heard anything from him. He tries not to worry, telling himself that lunch with his family probably took longer than expected. Harry hasn’t seen his sister Gemma in months, so he’s probably catching up with her too. So, Louis continues thrumming his fingers against his stomach as he continues waiting.

He can’t believe they’ve finally graduated. It feels like just yesterday that Louis was the new kid in a new school meeting Harry. He would have never thought that the quirky boy with the glasses and curls would end up being his mate. Louis doesn’t know how he got to be so lucky.

Louis’ phone vibrates on his bed and he rushes to see who it is. It’s a text from his mom checking in. He can’t help but feel disappointed that it isn’t Harry. He texts her back and puts his phone back on the bed. His mom wasn’t able to attend graduation due to her grueling work schedule, but she did request the day off tomorrow and they are planning to celebrate then. Plus, Louis figured it would also be a good time to tell her that he and Harry have mated. She knows all about Harry, and how crazy Louis is about him. She has been begging Louis to bring him over when she’s home, but their schedules haven’t really worked in their favor, so finally tomorrow will be the day that both of the people Louis loves most in the world will get to meet. Louis is so excited, his stomach flutters with hundreds of butterflies.

Louis’ phone vibrates again and this time it’s finally Harry letting him know he’s here and on his way up. Louis jumps from his bed, turning the music off and rushing to open the door. There’s this rush of feelings he gets that travels all throughout his body every time he’s about to see his alpha. Louis wonders if it will ever go away. He hopes it doesn’t.

When he opens the door, Harry is climbing up the final steps and Louis’ heart stops. Harry rushes through the front door, anger seeping through his pores. The feeling is so strong, Louis feels just as angry but he isn’t really sure why.

“Babe, what’s wrong?”

Harry is pacing back and forth, panting from anger or from climbing three flights of stairs, Louis isn’t quite sure.

“Harry.” Louis raises his voice a little so that his alpha can hear him. At that, Harry freezes, his eyes shifting to Louis.

Harry walks across the room until he’s inches from Louis. It sort of brings Louis back to that time before he and Harry had their first kiss. When Harry left his coming of age party to be with Louis and they were standing in this very kitchen. This time, however, Harry looks almost manic, and Louis doesn’t like the feeling it gives him seeing him like this.

“Let’s get out of here, Lou. Let’s move to Connecticut. Tonight.” Harry’s eyes burn into Louis so much that he finds himself having to look away, his gaze too intense.

“Why? What happened?” Louis is usually the spontaneous one in their relationship, but he has a feeling Harry isn’t suggesting this as one of their adventures. It feels more like he’s trying to run away from something or someone.

Harry lets out a breath, his shoulders sagging and he runs a hand through his hair. “My father found out that we’re still together. He gave me an ultimatum. If I choose to stay with you, he’s not going to pay for Yale. I’ll be forced to go to Northwestern. And if I end things with you, he’ll let me go wherever I want.”

Now Louis is the one pacing in his small kitchen. “Fuck.” He covers his face with his hands, trying to think of how this scenario can turn in their favor.

“I told him I don’t need his money. I just left. I have some money saved up and we can still move in together. I’ll just have to find a job when the money runs out, but I’m willing to do that as long as I get to be with you, Lou. I’ll do anything.” Harry’s eyes are wide, his face is flushed with frustration. It hurts Louis’ heart that Harry has been put in this position at all. It isn’t fair to him.

Louis doesn’t say anything for a few moments, trying to think if there is any other solution to this other than running away. He can’t think of anything.

“Louis please. Let’s get out of here. Let’s start a new life away from this place. We’ll be each other’s homes no matter where we end up, let’s just not do it here. I can’t be anywhere near my father, because as long as I am, he’ll always be breathing down my neck trying to dictate my life. _Our_ life.”

Louis hates that Harry is right. As long as they’re together, they won’t be able to be truly happy here with Harry’s dad trying to break them up every chance he gets. Louis doesn’t want them to go through all that.

“So...will you do it? Will you leave with me?” Harry’s voice brings Louis back to the present.

Louis nods. “Yeah. Yeah, of course.”

Harry surges toward Louis and wraps his arms around him. Louis’ eyes close and he breathes Harry in, his scent instantly calming him from one of the biggest decisions they’ve just made. Harry takes Louis’ face in his hands and pulls him in for a desperate kiss. Their lips swiping together and licking into each other’s mouths. When Harry pulls away, Louis is left breathless and he needs a moment to recover before opening his eyes again.

“I need to go grab some things. I need to take money out, and I need to get my car. Want to pack some things and I’ll come back to pick you up?” Harry asks.

Louis thinks through what he needs to pack and shakes his head. “Why don’t you meet me at the coffee shop instead? I need to go pick up my check from them so I can make sure my mom gets it.”

Harry nods. “Okay.” He leans in to kiss Louis again. “Okay. I’ll see you in about an hour?”

Louis still feels out of it, like he’s dreaming, only he’s not and he needs to wake up and focus on his reality. “Yeah, yeah. An hour. See you then.”

They kiss one last time before Harry turns to leave. When Harry opens the front door he looks over his shoulder and smiles. It’s the most genuine smile he’s had since he first walked into the apartment today.

“I love you Louis. I can’t wait to begin this new adventure with you.” He says.

Louis’ lips curve up into a smile of his own, his cheeks are no doubt flushed. “I love you too, Haz. I can’t wait either.”

And with that, Harry leaves the apartment. Louis stares at the closed door for a few minutes before he shakes himself out of it and gets to work.

-

Louis is packing like a frantic maniac.

There are so many things he keeps remembering to pack, and his duffle bag is already filled and about to explode. He doesn’t have anything bigger to put his stuff in. Louis lets out an exasperated huff and as much as it pains him, he decides to leave some things behind. Maybe when things have calmed down he can travel back here to get the rest of his things.

Louis checks the time and he has about twenty more minutes before he has to meet Harry. He’s almost done, just needs to run to the bathroom to grab his toothbrush, shampoo and conditioner. While he’s there, he gets the urge to use the toilet so he does his business and flushes the it. Only, the toilet isn’t flushing.

Confused, Louis tries again. And again. He looks inside their closet for a bucket so that he can fill it with water to flush it that way, but when he gets to the faucet and twists the knob, no water comes out of it.

Louis texts his mom to let her know their water isn’t working and goes back to his room to attempt to zip it shut. While he’s trying to sit on it to close his duffle bag, his phone dings with a new text message. Louis pauses to check his phone and it’s his mom.

**_Sorry, love. Didn’t have enough money this month to cover the water bill. Had to pay the rent. Should have enough with your paycheck this week to get it back on._ **

Louis stares at his phone for what feels like hours. His heart sinks as realization hits him.

He can’t leave his mom alone.

All of Louis’ life, it’s always been him and his mother. She had him at a very young age and she’s always gone above and beyond for Louis to have the best life he could have. As soon as Louis was old enough to work, he did what he could to help his mom pay the bills so that she wouldn’t have to struggle on her own anymore. He can’t just abandon his mom and leave her behind. Not when she can barely manage to handle the bills with both her and Louis’ income. As soon as Louis leaves, things will only get more difficult for her, and his mom doesn’t deserve that.

Louis drops to his bed, tears starting to fall down his cheeks. He loves Harry so much, he really does. But he loves his mom more. And he can’t— he won’t— leave her behind to fend for herself. He lays back on the bed, shoving his duffle bag aside, letting it drop to the floor and he buries his face into his pillow, letting his sobs rip out of him.

After letting it all out for what seems like hours, Louis calms down a little. He still feels a little shaky, but overall he’s as good as he can be for the situation. He picks up his phone, and he’s supposed to be meeting Harry at the coffee shop at this very moment. With a deep sigh, Louis unlocks his phone to call Harry, but just as he’s about to do so, his phone rings. It’s Zayn.

Louis presses on the green button to answer. “Hello?” He croaks. Louis clears his throat before a frantic Zayn responds on the other line.

“Louis! I need your help!” Zayn sounds desperate and a little slurry like he’s had a few drinks.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Louis asks, his heart racing with worry.

Instead of getting a response, Louis hears a whine on the other side, then a few audible breaths. “I don’t know. I think...I think I’m presenting as omega.”

Louis jumps out of bed, frantically looking for his car keys. “Okay, okay, okay. Where are you? I’m coming over.”

“I’m at the library. I...I didn’t know what else to do so I locked myself in one of the bathrooms. Please come quick. I don’t know how much time I have before an alpha catches my scent.” Zayn’s voice sounds so urgent and scared, Louis has never heard him sound this way before.

“Okay. Whatever you do, don’t answer the door for _anyone_ , you hear me? I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Louis hangs up and rushes over to his car. After he turns on the engine, he grabs his phone and sends Harry a quick text message.

**_I’m sorry, Haz I can’t go to Connecticut. Can we talk later? Something very urgent just came up. I love you xx_ **

✦

Harry can’t believe he left his phone in his haste to leave the house. He groans, frustrated that he’s forced to go back to retrieve it, and that he’s going to be late to meet Louis at the coffee shop. He parks on the driveway and rushes through the front steps before opening the front door.

“What are you doing?” Mr. Styles’ voice stops Harry in his tracks. He turns around to face his father, hopefully for the last time.

“I just came to get my phone then I’ll be gone for good.” Harry explains, about to make his move upstairs to his bedroom.

Before he can, his father pulls out his phone presenting it to him on the palm of his hand.

“Here you go.”

His father looks rather calm. A lot calmer than he was just less than an hour ago when he was telling Harry how he was going to waste his life away by choosing to stay with Louis. Harry tried his best to ignore him and packed his things in a rush to get out of his father’s presence as soon as possible, which is why he forgot his phone in the first place.

"That boy is going to drop you as soon as he finds out you don't have a penny to your name." His father says. 

 

Harry snatches the phone from his father’s hand without another word and leaves the house. His father's words leave an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach, but he chooses to ignore it. He checks his phone, expecting to have multiple messages from Louis asking where he is, but there’s nothing. Harry wonders if Louis is also running late.

When he gets to the coffee shop there’s no sign of Louis. Harry asks the manager if he’s seen him, but apparently he hasn’t shown up. Harry attempts to call Louis, but the calls go straight to voicemail. Each call that he makes to try to reach his omega is like another punch to his heart.

Harry tries to not let himself over think things. He’s sure Louis has a good reason why he isn’t here. So, Harry drives over to Louis’ apartment. Louis is probably having trouble choosing what he wants to take with him and what he wants to leave behind. Harry had the same issue, having to leave his entire vinyl collection at the hands of his father.

When he gets to Louis’ apartment, Harry notices that his firebird isn’t parked in its usual spot. He takes a deep breath and climbs to the third floor to Louis’ apartment to knock on the door.

There’s no answer.

Harry knocks, and knocks some more. It’s obvious that there’s no one home, but Harry refuses to stop knocking. As if Louis will magically appear if Harry knocks hard enough or something. He knocks until his knuckles eventually start to bleed, so he finally stops. He lets himself drop to the floor, cradling his hand that’s screaming in pain. He wants to scream, he wants to break the door down and find Louis, but he doesn’t do any of those things. A few moments pass before Harry picks himself back up and leaves the apartment building.

Maybe his father was right. It seems that Louis has made his decision, so now it’s time for Harry to make his.

As much as it hurts him to do it. As much as it makes him want to rip his heart out of his chest just so that he won’t have to feel the pain, the betrayal he’s feeling right now.

Harry gets into his car and drives. He drives and drives and drives. There is still a part of him that wishes this was all a nightmare that he'll soon wake up from. But the longer he goes without hearing from Louis, the less hope he has. So, Harry decides to drive back home.

When he gets home for what feels like the millionth time today, he rings the doorbell.

It isn’t Celia that answers the door this time. It’s Harry’s father. He stares at Harry waiting for him to say something. He has a smug look on his face Harry wishes he could wipe off. 

Harry inhales slowly before exhaling. He closes his eyes before saying.

“I’m going to Yale.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hate me.


	6. Chapter 6

**_11 years later_ **

The room feels too quiet for Harry’s thoughts. He rubs circles around his temples and takes in a deep, calming breath. His fingers trail down to his neck to the spot where his bond mark used to be. The raised skin has been gone for almost a year now, but it doesn’t stop Harry from looking for it every single day.

Being back here still feels unreal to him. Harry feels like he’s been on autopilot since the moment he got the call that his father had passed away and that he needed to come home. Harry doesn’t even consider it home at this point since he hasn’t been back in eleven years.

A knock at the door distracts him from his thoughts. Liam appears in the doorway with a tentative look on his face.

“You ready? Everyone’s waiting for you.” He says, voice soft. Liam has been talking to him in that tone since he’d arrived earlier. Harry kind of wishes he would stop treating him like he’s made of glass and about to break at any moment.

Harry stands up from his chair, straightening his posture and running his hands down the lapels of his suit jacket.

“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” He says before walking over to the door. Liam leads him out of the office and they head down the corridor in silence, which Harry appreciates. He’s not really in the mood for small talk right now.

Liam leads Harry toward another door and opens it for him. As soon as Harry crosses the threshold, camera flashes start to go off, the brightness of them nearly blinding him.

Harry walks to the podium surrounded by microphones from any and every media outlet. He had called a press conference to kill all birds with one stone so that he doesn’t have to be repeating himself over and over again.

“Good morning.” Harry begins. The loudness of his voice that booms through the speakers catches him off guard a little and he coughs to try to recover from it. “On behalf of Styles Incorporated, I would like to thank you for being here today. My father, the founder and CEO of Styles Incorporated, has left behind a company that has made a legacy in our society by providing products for alphas and omegas alike in some of their most dire and sensitive moments. Because of that, we must continue working hard so that our customers continue getting the proper care that they deserve.” Harry’s contacts start making his vision blurry a bit, so he blinks a couple of times to continue reading off his pre-written speech in front of him. “It is my honor to announce that I will be taking over as CEO for the company effective immediately. Styles Incorporated is lucky to have an amazing team already that will continue to work dutifully on keeping the qualities of their products to the highest standard. I look forward to following in my father’s footsteps and carrying out his vision. It’s something I know he has been wanting since I was a young child, and I hope I can do his legacy justice. Thank you all for your time.”

Harry walks away from the podium and there’s murmurs from the crowd and journalists trying to call his name to ask more questions but he lets them go unanswered. He rushes back to Liam who helps escort him out and back to his office. Harry feels like he can finally breathe again.

“You did great, H.” Liam tells him as soon as they get back to his office.

“I lied to them, though. I don’t want to be in charge, I don’t even want to be here.” Harry’s throat burns and he isn’t going to cry. He isn’t.

Liam’s arm comes up to Harry’s shoulders. “I know, I know. You’ll be okay. You just need to do this temporarily until you can figure things out and find someone to take over.”

Harry’s shoulders relax a little and he leans his head against Liam’s shoulder. “Yeah. You’re right. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be so whiny all the time.”

Liam chuckles. “No need to apologize. I’m your best friend, I’ve seen you do much worse.”

And right. Poor Liam has seen Harry at rock bottom. Harry wonders how he’s stuck around for so long after seeing him like that. He doesn’t say anything about that though. It’s a time Harry would rather not have to think about.

“Why don’t you go home and rest. The big stuff is done and you still have a house that you need to finish moving into. I’ll take care of things here and will call you if anything else big comes up.” Harry could kiss Liam right now. So he does. He takes his face and smacks a wet, sloppy kiss on his cheek.

“I love you, you know that?” Harry tells him. Too bad Liam is an alpha. It’s not that Harry is against alpha/alpha relationships at all, they’re just really not Harry’s type. He experimented a bit in college, but nothing ever really stuck.

They get security to escort Harry out to meet the driver he hired for today. He didn’t think it would be a good idea to drive with all the media around and everything. Things go pretty smoothly, and before he knows it, he’s sitting in the back of a black Escalade on his way to his new house.

As soon as Harry realized he was going to have to be here more permanently he bought his own house right outside of the city, refusing to stay in his childhood home like his mother had tried to insist. There are just too many bad memories there that Harry didn’t want to relive, so he called his realtor and made it happen as quickly as possible.

Harry is glad that it’s summertime and the weather is very similar to that of Los Angeles. Having lived in LA for the past seven years has made him extremely sensitive to any temperature below 60.

The driver drops him off at home and when Harry unlocks his door, he’s reminded of all the boxes he has yet to unpack. He groans and drops his keys on the table that’s by the entrance before climbing up the stairs to get out of his suit and into something much more comfortable.

He sets up his bluetooth speaker and phone so that he can have some music playing while he unpacks some more of the boxes. He wishes he still had his vinyl collection that his father most likely got rid of when he moved out and makes a mental note to unpack his record player today. Harry plays some upbeat music from one of his playlists and gets to work.

Harry’s house isn’t too big, just a decent sized two bedroom two bathroom home with a balcony right outside his bedroom and a huge yard with a nice deck to have barbeques. Harry considers maybe having a small house warming once he feels he’s ready to receive visitors. He continues working for the next few hours, unpacking box after box. He starts with the kitchen and works his way through to the living room and then upstairs to his bedroom. He gets to a box labeled ‘music stuff’ and opens it. His heart twinges when he sees that it’s the equipment he used for composing music. He sighs, closes the box, and seals it with tape before shoving it to the back of his closet.

Before Harry got the call about his father, he was working in Los Angeles composing music for motion pictures. He had built a very good reputation in the business and was starting to become one of the go to people for that. Harry was starting to get swamped with projects, but he was so happy to be doing what he loved. He had just finished a project for a Christopher Nolan film when he got the news and had to fly home to be with his family, and he hasn’t left since.

It’s only been about a month, but to Harry it already feels like an eternity. Being back just brings so many memories that Harry had worked hard to try and erase. He was glad to know that Liam moved to this city for work just a few years ago, happy to have his best friend nearby.

Liam and Harry became best friends when they were roomed together at Yale and have become inseparable ever since. They still kept in touch after graduation, and Liam would visit Harry in LA from time to time. As soon as Harry landed, he’d called Liam and asked him to be CFO of Styles Incorporated. It was an offer Liam couldn’t refuse since he was working as a consultant for another company making half as much as what Harry was offering him. Harry doesn’t know what he’d do without him.

The shrill sound of Harry’s phone shakes him out of his thoughts. Harry rushes to grab it without looking at the Caller ID.

“Hello?”

“How do you feel about Chinese food? I was thinking of getting Chinese food for dinner?” His sister Gemma asks without even greeting Harry.

Harry huffs. “Gems, I told you I wasn’t coming over for dinner today. I still have a shit ton of boxes and stuff to unpack.”

“Yes I know, but I chose to ignore you. You’ll need a break eventually, won’t you? Come on. We haven’t really had a proper meal together as a family since everything happened. Plus, we never really celebrated the fact that you’re finally home.” Gemma insists.

Harry sighs. “That’s nothing to celebrate, in my opinion.”

His sister gets quiet on the other line. “Haz, please. Mom has been wanting this. She keeps saying she wants to spend as much time with us as she can. Saying life is too short and stuff.”

God his sister is great at the guilt trips. But he guesses he also understands where his mother is coming from. “Fine.” Harry checks the time and realizes it’s already evening. He had no idea he’d been unpacking all day. His stomach growls right on cue. “I’ll be over in about an hour.”

“Great! I’ll let mom know. You better not keep us waiting.” Gemma warns.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be there. I’ll see you soon.” With that they say their goodbyes and hang up. Harry looks around the room. He got a lot done today, and maybe that barbeque will be happening sooner rather than later.

✦

Louis bangs on the wooden door so hard it hurts his knuckles.

“I know you’re in there Zee. Open up!” He knocks again, this time with both of his fists.

“Hold on!” Zayn calls from the other side. He can hear the lock unlatching before his best friend appears on the other side. His hair is in disarray and he’s still wiping the sleep from his eyes. “What the fuck man? I was asleep.”

“Did you know?” Louis doesn’t bother with pleasantries. There is a specific reason why he’s here anyway.

Zayn’s eyebrows scrunch. “Did I know what?” He asks.

Louis huffs. “Did you know Harry was back in town? Did you know he has taken over for his dad and is now the CEO, meaning he’s probably not going to be leaving any time soon?”

Zayn’s eyes widen and his lip part. “Fuck. Come in.” He opens the door wider to let Louis inside.

Louis walks in and crosses his arms. He already knows he isn’t going to be happy with Zayn’s answer.

They sit on the couch and Zayn takes an audible breath. “I knew Harry was back in town, but I didn’t know he was CEO or anything.”

Louis’ eyes squint at Zayn. “Why should I believe you?”

“Because it’s true!” Zayn raises his arms defensively. “Liam only told me that Harry was here for his dad’s funeral and that the Styles were trying to figure out the future of the company. I haven’t seen my boyfriend in days, and it’s probably because of what you’re telling me. I didn’t tell you Harry was in town because I figured why bother telling you if he was going to leave again.”

Louis’ shoulders relax. Zayn seems to be telling the truth. “Fine. Thanks for your consideration, but I would have liked a heads up.” He murmurs.

“I’m sorry, Lou. I just didn’t want to add salt to your wound, you know?” The guilt that washes Zayn’s face makes Louis feel bad.

“I get it. It’s fine. I swear my heart nearly dropped out of my ass when I saw Harry on TV this morning.” He says.

“He was on TV?”

Louis nods remembering his morning. He was in the kitchen making his morning tea with the TV playing in the background. As soon as he heard Harry’s voice his heart had felt like it stopped. The man talking on TV didn’t have curls or glasses like he used to, though. His hair was a lot shorter and the glasses had disappeared. He wasn’t the boy Louis had fallen in love with all those years ago anymore.

“Yeah. There was a press conference of some sort. You should really talk to your boyfriend.”

Zayn rolls his eyes. “Shut up. I’ve been working late at the tattoo shop so we haven’t really had time to see each other. Don’t worry, he’s going to be getting an earful from me.”

Louis feels better hearing that. He’s comforted a bit at knowing that even though Zayn has been in a long term relationship with Liam, he’d still defend Louis no matter what.”

“Thanks Zee. Sorry I woke you.” Louis tells him.

Zayn shrugs. “It’s fine. My alarm was gonna go off in a few minutes anyway. What are you up to today?”

Louis checks the time on his phone. “I have to stop by the shop. I had Phil open for the first time today and I want to make sure he didn’t fuck anything up. Plus I’m giving a guitar lesson at 2 PM.”

“You want to stop by the tattoo shop after your shift so I can finish that piece on your leg?” Zayn asks. He had started a lighthouse piece on Louis’ leg a while back. Louis was supposed to return after the outline healed, but he just hasn’t had time.

“Yeah that works for me. I’ll see you then.” Louis gets up from the couch and Zayn follows him to the door. Louis hugs his best friend. “Sorry for barging in on you.”

Zayn’s hand rubs up and down Louis’ back. “You’re never barging in Lou. This is practically your second home. You’re always welcome. Even if you’re pissed at me.”

They both laugh and say their goodbyes before Louis is out and on his way to the shop. He gets in his black Range Rover and merges onto the freeway. He gets off on an exit downtown, thankful that the traffic isn’t too bad.

Louis pulls into the parking lot of his shop Reckless Records. It’s a decent sized storefront, big enough to fit any record you can possibly imagine as well as instruments, which include mostly guitars, keyboards, basses and drum sets. Towards the back there’s a small open space where Louis gives guitar lessons every now and then. Louis doesn’t really do the lessons for the money. Often times, if the kid comes from a family of low means he gives the lessons for free because no child should have money be an obstacle to learn to play music.

“Hey Phil.” Louis greets his employee as he walks through the door. Phil greets him and Louis heads to the back office to sort some of their new shipments. Things are pretty quiet at the store which is pretty usual for the middle of the day during summer. Most people are usually doing outdoor things rather than hanging out in a stuffy music store.

Louis isn’t sure how much time passes before his cellphone is going off.

“Hello?”

“Hey sweetie, how are you?” His mom has that ‘are you okay?’ tone in her voice and Louis thinks she must have watched Harry on TV too.

Louis lets out a breath. “I’m fine, mom. How about you? Are the little monsters behaving?” He wants to change the subject because he doesn’t want to get into the other thing right now.

His mom seems to notice that right away so she goes along with it. “They’re fine. Doris was just asking me when Achoo was going to come over, so I told her I would call and ask.”

Louis grins. “Tell her I’ll come by this weekend and I’ll take them out for ice cream.” He loves his little brother and sister so much and tries to spend as much time with them as he can. He may be 25 years older than them, but that only gives him the opportunity to spoil them rotten.

“Did you hear that Doris?” His mom calls out to his little sister. Louis hears an excited wail in the background. “I think she’s excited. I’m not quite sure though.”

They both laugh and continue catching up. His mom may only live a few minutes away from Louis, but with the shop, the guitar lessons, and other things, he feels like he hasn’t been able to see his family very often. Plus, his mom and stepdad Dan, have had their hands full with the twins and their schedule isn’t much better than Louis’.

“But really, Louis. How are you? I saw Harry on TV this morning.” His mom’s tone turns serious. So Louis guesses they’re doing this now.

“I don’t know how I am, mom. I was shocked, and then I was mad at Zayn for not telling me he was here, but now I’m just...whatever. There’s nothing I can do to stop him from living here. I’m just going to have to deal with it I guess.” Louis tells her.

“You’re not gonna like this, but I think you should talk to him.” Louis begins to protest, but his mother interrupts. “No, hear me out. I’m not saying to talk to him so you can be friends or anything. But I do think that you need closure. You need answers and Harry is the only one that can give that to you. Then you can finally fully heal and move on with your life. You’re no longer attached to him in any way. Your bondmark is gone. This would probably be a different conversation if Harry came back a year ago.”

Louis’ fingers touch the spot on his neck where his bondmark used to be. He can’t feel any trace of it any more after it faded away completely last year. A year ago they would have still had their marks and Louis’ mom is right. It would have been different. Now all Louis has is a visual reminder of that mark when he got it tattooed so that he’d never have to live without it, but he knows it isn’t the same.

“I don’t know. I have to think about it. I just don’t even know what I would say to him, where to even begin.” Louis admits.

“How about start with ‘why did you disappear all those years ago without saying a word?’ I think that’s a good place to start.” His mother tells him.

Louis closes his eyes willing the painful memories of the past to go away. After a few beats of silence his mother continues.

“I love you Louis. Just, don’t hesitate to call me. And you know you’re always welcome in our home if what you need is time away.”

“Mom, you live minutes away from me. You’re acting like you’re in another town.” Louis deadpans.

His mom chuckles. “Still. I’m your mom.  A mother’s house is always supposed to be comforting or whatever.”

A small smile appears on Louis’ face. “Okay. I’ll keep that in mind. I’ve gotta go release Phil from his shift. I’ll talk to you later.”

“I love you baby. Don’t ever forget that.” His mom reminds him.

“I love you too mom. Thank you.”

Louis doesn’t really have to relieve Phil, but he just can’t keep talking about Harry. He doesn’t think he’s ready to. He wonders if he ever will.

 

✦  


Today is Harry’s first full day at the office and saying that he’s looking forward to it would be a complete lie. He hit snooze on his alarm clock five times this morning before he finally managed to make himself get out of bed. He’s been dragging all morning, which isn’t a very great start to his day.

When he enters the building of Styles Incorporated, it feels like everyone around him is in a hurry to get somewhere. It makes Harry wonder what kind of ship his father ran around here. He could only imagine what type of CEO he was, and he already knows that he’s not going to be anywhere close to that.

Harry arrives to the third floor where the executive offices are and he greets the receptionist with a smile plastered on his face before heading to his office. His assistant, Carl, comes into his office as Harry is powering on his computer.

“Good morning, Mr. Styles. Is there anything you’d like for me to get you? Coffee? Or I can go grab you some breakfast from the cafe across the street?” Carl is talking a mile a minute, so Harry puts his hand up to stop him.

“Carl, please. Call me Harry. Also, thank you for the offer but I’m okay. In the mornings, I’ll just want to be briefed on anything I’ve missed while I was gone or if I have any messages. If I need anything else I will let you know.”

Carl nods. “Of course, Mr. — I mean, Harry.” He excuses himself after making sure Harry doesn’t need anything else.

There are so many things Harry needs to catch up on. Leaving Styles Incorporated without a CEO for over a month really made them fall behind on a lot of things. Thankfully a lot of their clients are aware of their situation and have been more than understanding. Harry is working on catching up with emails when Liam comes into the office.

“Hey boss. How’s it going?”

Harry groans. “I’ve responded to at least a hundred emails and my inbox doesn’t seem to be getting any smaller.”

Liam looks at him sympathetically. “Why don’t you have Carl answer your emails and if it’s anything really dire just have him leave those for you to answer?”

Thank God for Liam. Harry doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing and Liam is on top of it making sure he’s getting his shit together and doing things how they’re supposed to be done.

“Right. Thanks, Li.” Harry’s typing an email to Carl with his email information when Liam is still standing there. “Is there anything you need?”

Liam sits on one of the chairs provided and pulls his phone out. “We have a meeting at 10 AM this morning with our developers. We are supposed to approve or reject some new product ideas they have.”

Harry folds his hands on top of the desk. “Right. I remember reading an email about that. Okay. Thanks for the reminder. Want to come get me when you’re heading over?”

“Sure thing, boss.” Liam stands up. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call, okay?” There’s concern in Liam’s eyes. It’s that look again.

“I will. I promise.” Harry assures him. God bless Liam, honestly.

-

Harry doesn’t like any of the new product ideas they’ve just been presented with. Apparently they were his father’s ideas that the developers brought to reality, but to Harry, these products seem pointless. It isn’t their fault though, so Harry nods along to their presentations and examines the products just like he’s supposed to do.

At the end of the meeting, he tells them that he needs more time to make a decision. They all look at him like he’s grown three heads, but Harry is trying to find a better solution than just telling them he hates them.

“What was that all about?” Liam asks as soon as the last person leaves the conference room.

Harry sighs. “Those products are so unoriginal, Liam. Flavored condoms? Those already exist. Knot rings to help enhance an alpha’s pleasure? We need something more innovative I think. I didn’t want to tell them that. At least not until I have better ideas to suggest in return.” He explains.

“Right.” Liam replies. “Well, how about we go to lunch and then come back and see what we can come up with?”

Harry agrees and they end up going to an outdoor restaurant that’s walking distance from their building. They place their orders and get glasses filled with water before the waiter excuses himself promising to be back with their food.

“So how was your weekend? Up to anything interesting?” Harry makes conversation. He takes a bread roll and cuts it in half to spread some butter on it.

“Actually it was. I finally got to spend some much needed time with my boyfriend.” Liam tells him.

Harry pauses what he’s doing. “Wait a minute. You have a boyfriend? Since when?”

Liam’s face flushes and he looks down at the table. “Yeah, actually. Sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but you were pretty occupied with other things so I was waiting for a better time.”

Harry smiles. “Thank you for being considerate. But now I want to know everything. How long have you guys been together?”

Liam grins, his brown eyes get so soft as soon as he begins to talk. “When I moved here I went to his tattoo shop to get my sleeve done. He’s so gorgeous and just really great. We’ve been pretty much inseparable ever since.”

“That’s great Liam. What’s his na— ?” Harry’s phone chirps before he can finish his question and he checks it. “Holy shit.” He gasps.

“What is it?” Liam asks, but his question goes unanswered as Harry clicks on the twitter app.

“Oh my God!” Harry yelps. He clicks on the link provided and sure enough. Blue is having a show here in this city. Harry doesn’t hesitate to buy tickets.

“Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?” Liam asks, looking worried.

Harry laughs. “Sorry, sorry. It’s just that. You know Blue? The artist that I have been following around for years? I have their twitter on notifications because they only announce their shows through twitter. I’ve been wanting to buy one of his pieces for ages, but they’re only sold at his shows.”

“Okay…” Liam says, still not seeming to understand what caused Harry’s reaction.

“Well, they just announced their next show and it’s here in this city. I just bought us tickets, you have to come with me, Li. I need to get my hands on one of his pieces.” Harry explains.

Harry remembers when he first stumbled upon Blue. He was browsing through one of his favorite art blogs, and there was a post about one of Blue’s paintings being sold for nearly a million dollars. Apparently that put Blue on the map in the art world, and he became a hot commodity. Unfortunately for Harry, it has made it very difficult for him to get his hands on an original work of theirs.

As much as he loves Blue’s work, their name sometimes makes it hard for Harry to not think about Louis. He can’t help but think about that song by Troye Sivan that Louis had sent him during his first rut when Harry was in a lot of pain and really needed some relief. Harry hasn’t been able to hear the song all these years, making it way too painful for him.

Harry’s head snaps up to Liam. “Liam...I have an idea for one of the products.”

Liam is chewing on his burger and stops. “What is it?”

-

“I’m sure every alpha in this room can remember every detail about how they felt when they popped their first knot and how painful that experience was. Well, I have a solution for you.”

Harry removes the piece of fabric that is covering his presentation board. “Numbing cream for an alpha’s first knot. And for their first rut too, because let’s face it, those aren’t a walk in the park either.”

Some of the people in the room chuckle and nod in agreement, making Harry’s confidence skyrocket.

“We can also have them come in different flavors for those that might have omegas with them during their first rut. That way they can have some fun with it too.” Harry grins and he’s met with a room full of satisfied faces.

When he’s done with his presentation, the entire conference room claps. They tell Harry how much they love his idea and talk about how they want to get it to the developers as soon as possible. Harry feels like he’s on top of the world. He feels that he might not be so bad at this CEO thing after all.

 

✦  


Louis tilts his neck to get a better view of it in the mirror. He takes his makeup brush and swipes it against the waterproof cover up before dabbing it on his bonding mark tattoo like he does every morning. This process is tedious and annoying as fuck, but nobody knows Louis has this and he intends to keep it this way. He finishes getting dressed for the day and grabs his keys before heading out the door.

It’s still very early in the morning, the sun has barely come out, and Louis loves the hues of pink, orange and yellow that paint the sky on his way to the shop. When he arrives, he unlocks the shop and locks it back once he’s inside, since the store doesn’t open for another hour. His employee, Jenna is opening today and Louis trusts her to be more than capable of doing that. He leaves a note for her at the register letting her know he’ll be in his studio. He walks to the back of the shop, opening a door labeled ‘employees only’ and walks through the small break room before unlocking another door that leads up to the attic. The scent of acrylic paint hits his nostrils as soon as he begins climbing the steps.

Louis throws his stuff haphazardly on the floor and stares at the painting he’s currently working on that still sits on the easel. He turns to the table that his record player rests on and puts on some Angels and Airwaves. He takes his palette and begins to pour paint into it before grabbing a clean paint brush and gets to work.

He likes coming to paint at the beginning of his days before doing anything else. It’s like when a person can’t function in the mornings without coffee, Louis can’t function in the mornings without swiping his brush against a canvas. It’s soothing and helps him clear his mind of things before he goes on about his day. Like morning meditation yoga only better.

Louis puts the last finishing touches to his painting, then stands back to take a good look at the entire thing and finds that he’s happy with the result. It was the last piece he needed to complete before his art show this weekend.

The sound of the door unlocking makes him shift his attention from the painting. He catches sight of Zayn’s dark hair first before his best friend appears coming up the steps. It can’t really be anyone else because Zayn is the only other person who has the key to his studio.

“Hey babe.” Zayn greets him.

“Hey.”

When Zayn gets to the final step his eyes catch sight of Louis’ finished work.

“Did you just finish that?” He asks.

“Yeah.”

“It’s beautiful.”

“You say that about all of my paintings.” Louis points out.

Zayn shrugs. “Yeah, so? You make amazing art. Learn to take a compliment every once in a while.”

Louis chuckles. “Thanks. What brings you here?”

“Your phone is off.”

“Yeah. I didn’t want any interruptions. Did you need something?”

“I need to confirm with the gallery how many pieces you’re going to have. I just wanted to make sure you were able to finish your last one.” Zayn says. He pulls out his phone probably already having the email drafted and ready to go.

“Oh okay. Yeah well they’re all ready.”

“Also, I got an email from the director of the Omega Project thanking us for the donation we made from the last show we had and they also wanted to invite us to a fundraiser they’re holding next month.”

Louis hums. “Well, you know I can’t make an appearance. But maybe to make up for it we can donate a piece that they can auction?”

Zayn smiles. “That’s a great idea, Lou. I’ll get in touch with them and let them know.”

“Thanks.”

Louis sets his paints aside and looks at himself in the mirror in the small bathroom he had installed when he first bought the building. He has no idea how he managed to get paint on his face, but he gets to work on washing it off with warm water from the sink.

When he’s all cleaned up he sees Zayn watching him in amusement. “What?”

Zayn shakes his head smiling. “Nothing. You’re just really pretty, that’s all.”

Louis scoffs. “I’m going to tell your boyfriend you’re hitting on me.”

Zayn playfully punches him in the face.

“Ow.” Louis rubs his arm. “Come on let’s go get french toast at the diner, I’m starving.”

The Night Owls might have retired years ago, but Louis still likes to go grab french toast after he’s completed a painting. It makes him feel like his work is incomplete without it.

  
✦  


Harry walks up the steps of the art gallery in excited anticipation. He still can’t believe he has finally managed to make it to one of Blue’s coveted shows.

As soon as he walks through the entrance, he’s greeted by a waiter who has a tray full of blue colored beverages and offers Harry one. Harry takes it gratefully and walks away, taking a sip of it and wondering how they managed to make real blue champagne happen.

He takes a walk around the gallery, admiring every single piece he comes across and wishing he could just buy them all. There are signs that inform the guests that the paintings will be sold via auction and that half of the money made tonight will be donated to The Omega Project. That’s another thing Harry admires about Blue, that half of their earnings from sales get donated to a worthy cause.

In that very moment Harry feels like everything is happening in slow motion. His nostrils flare and he catches a whiff of _that_ scent. That very familiar scent that made him a goner the first time he ever caught wind of it. Harry’s head snaps from one side and then the other trying to see if he can catch sight of the omega, but he’s nowhere to be found in the room. Harry’s mouth goes dry so he chugs the rest of his blue champagne before disposing of the glass and rushing over to the bathroom.

As hard as his mind has been trying to forget Louis, his body seems to remember every detail of him. Harry looks down at his crotch and sure enough, he’s half hard in his pants. He splashes some cold water on his face and tries to remember how to breathe again. His heart is still racing against his chest so he closes his eyes to will his body to calm the fuck down.

Perhaps it was all Harry’s imagination or maybe it’s a weird sort of reaction from the alcohol, but as much as Harry tries to tell himself that, he knows deep down inside that it isn’t true. Louis is in this very building and Harry is going to have to prepare himself in case he happens to run into him today. And of course Louis would be at a place like this. Louis runs in the art circles as well, and it doesn’t surprise Harry at all that he’d also be a fan of Blue’s. He feels like an idiot. He’s been so caught up in his own shit that he hadn’t even stopped to realize that Louis might still live in this damn city.

Harry wants to growl in frustration, but he doesn’t. Instead he gets himself together and walks out of the bathroom. Thankfully as soon as he walks through the corridor he catches sight of Liam, who will serve as a great distraction from Louis.

However, the closer Harry gets to Liam, the clearer it begins to become who he’s standing with and talking to. Zayn stands across from Liam and they’re smiling about something, and they seem pretty familiar with each other. It dawns on Harry then that Zayn might be the boyfriend Liam was talking about. He takes a deep breath before making himself known to the pair.

“Hey Li, you finally made it.” Harry says. He thinks he does pretty well at concealing the shakiness from his voice.

Liam brightens and turns his gaze from Zayn to Harry. “Hey, sorry. Got held up by this one, but I’m here. Harry this is my boyfriend, Zayn. Zayn, you finally get to meet Harry.”

Zayn’s smile completely disappears and his lips form into a line.

“Hi Harry.”

“Um. Hi, Zayn. It’s been a long time.” Harry tries. It isn’t Zayn’s fault that things didn’t work out between him and Louis, and Harry doesn’t see why he can’t be friendly towards him.

Zayn nods at him. “Yep.” He doesn’t say anything else, and Liam looks at him with pinched eyebrows. His eyes shifting back and forth between them.

“Am I missing something?” He asks them.

At that, Zayn’s smile returns, but Harry can tell it isn’t a genuine one. “Harry and I have met before is all. He and Louis…” Before Zayn can finish what he was going to say, someone with a microphone gets their attention letting them know that the bidding is about to start.

As much as Harry had been looking forward to this part, he still has so many questions for Zayn. But he’s forced to leave those for now and instead focus on the auction, trying to make up his mind about which piece he wants to try to buy.

During the action, Zayn disappears. Liam explains that Zayn is helping with the event and had to go take care of some things. It also doesn’t surprise Harry that Zayn is still part of the art world after having been part of a pretty famous art duo with a massive following. The Night Owls announced their retirement not too long after Harry went to college. As hurt as Harry felt that Louis didn’t want to be with him, he still followed the duo on social media like the masochist he is.

Harry grabs another glass of blue champagne from a passing waiter nearby and takes a gulp of it. He has a feeling he’s going to be needing it.

  
✦  


“What is he doing here Zayn?” Louis asks as soon as his best friend steps through the door. He’s stuck in the employee’s break room after he’d seen Harry and ran as far away as he could to a place he couldn’t be seen.

Zayn closes the door and sighs. “Liam says he’s a huge fan of Blue and made Liam come with him because he’s determined to buy a piece.”

Louis paces back and forth. “Fuck.”

After a few moments Zayn says. “You can’t stay here all night, Louis.”

Louis’ shoulders slump. “Yeah I know that. I just. I thought I’d have more time before having to face him.”

Zayn comes closer to Louis and rubs his back. “I know, love. But will you ever really be ready to face him?”

Louis looks at Zayn with a defeated look and shakes his head.

“Come on. This is your opportunity to show him how well you’re doing without him. And you get to see him spend all his money on something that you created.” Zayn tells him.

Louis chuckles. “Yeah I guess you’re right.” He takes one last breath, straightening out his shoulders and running his hands down his torso. Even though nobody knows who Blue is, Louis still likes to dress nice for his shows. Tonight he went for his black skinny jeans and red shirt with the loose neck that shows his chest tattoos really well. He also wore his favorite eyeliner and nail polish for good luck so that his show goes well. “All right. Let’s go.”

  
✦  


The piece that Harry finally decided to purchase is up next for auction and he feels the excitement thrumming at the pit of his stomach. This is finally his opportunity.

The auction begins and there are a handful of other people that want to buy the piece too. Harry looks around at them and wants to glare at them. Instead he continues bidding. Eventually most people give up after the price goes up to half a million. There is still a couple of other people that are making it difficult for Harry to finally purchase an authentic Blue piece.

In that moment, Harry smells Louis before he appears right next to Zayn who is next to Liam. Harry continues to bid, willing his body to behave until he just can’t take it anymore.

“One million dollars!” Harry shouts. Everyone turns to look at him with shocked expressions on their faces. The bid hadn’t even gotten to 600 thousand, but Harry just wants to win this bid so that he can have his art and can finally focus his attention on Louis, whose scent is driving him insane.

“Sold!” He finally hears the word and Harry’s shoulders relax and he feels like he just won the lottery even though he just shelled out a million dollars. Harry grins and Liam pats him on the shoulder congratulating him.

When Harry turns around Louis’ eyes meet his. It’s like a flashback plays in his mind of the first moment their eyes ever met that day that Harry was waiting for his driver and Louis was asking Harry for a light. Louis has the same pale blue eyes encircled in the charcoal eyeliner Harry loves so much. His eyes trail down to Louis’ body and God. He’s wearing a shirt that reveals his collar bones, but not only that. He has a tattoo across his chest that says ‘It Is What It Is’ and suddenly Harry wants to trace his tongue all over it.

Harry quickly shakes himself from those thoughts and he reminds himself that this is Louis. Louis the omega that broke his heart into a million pieces and left him alone to put himself back together again. With that reminder he looks away, swallowing hard and trying his best to keep it together.

However, he doesn’t really get time to do that because a few moments later, Louis is standing in front of him.

“Hi, Harry.” He says. His voice is just as soft and raspy as he remembers. And having Louis closer, Harry is able to really look at his features. He’s obviously gotten older just like Harry has, but Louis looks really good. There’s a couple of faint bags under his eyes, but he’s still as gorgeous as ever.

Harry clears his throat before speaking. “Hey, Lou.” The nickname slips out of his lips before he can even think about it. He doesn’t miss the way Louis’ eyes widen for a split second at hearing it. Harry wants to kick himself in the face.

It feels really awkward. Neither of them seem to know what to say or what to do, and as hurt as Harry might have been from what happened between them, he doesn’t want to walk away. In fact, he wants to keep talking to Louis. About what, Harry isn’t quite sure.

“So..you’re a fan of Blue too?” Harry decides to ask after a few beats of silence.

Louis’ eyes shift away from Harry for a moment before he’s nodding. “Um. Yeah, yeah. Big fan.” He stutters rubbing the back of his head while he talks.

“I’m sorry.” Louis begins. And as soon as he mutters the words Harry wants to jump into his arms and say “Yes i forgive you, let’s be together again” but he doesn’t. Instead, he continues listening to what Louis has to say. “For your loss...I heard about your father.” Louis finishes.

Harry’s heart twinges as he realizes what Louis is apologizing for. He clears his throat again willing the knot in his throat to go away.

“Thank you. Yeah. It’s been a lot, but.” Harry shrugs. “We’re figuring things out.”

Before their conversation can continue any further Liam interrupts them. “Hey H, why don’t you go pay for your art and maybe we can go out to dinner, just the four of us?”

Bless Liam because his eyes look so hopeful, and it’s obvious that he has no idea about the history between he and Louis. Liam knows about Harry’s heartbreak. Hell, he was there to help him pick up the pieces. But, Harry never said Louis’ name because it was too painful. So instead, Harry just told him about the omega that broke his heart.

Harry, Zayn and Louis all exchange worried glances and Zayn and Louis seem to have a conversation with their eyes. Finally Zayn smiles and says, “Sure, babe.”

Harry isn’t sure how Louis feels about it since he isn’t showing any type of emotion on his face.

After Harry pays for his art and sets up a time and date for it to be delivered, he regroups with the others. They all go to a restaurant not far from the gallery and get seated by the hostess. Harry excuses himself to use the bathroom.

When Harry leaves the stall, he sees Louis is waiting for him by the sinks. Harry pauses in front of him waiting to hear what he has to say.

Louis looks at Harry and sighs. “Look Harry. It’s obvious that we have friends in common and I don’t want it to become a problem or anything. So I just wanted to say that I’m willing to let go of whatever history we have between us. It was a long time ago, and I think we should just leave it all buried in the past.”

Instead of reacting like Harry wants to do right now, he thinks about Louis’ words. As much as he wants to argue and yell and get out eleven years worth of pent up emotions and hurt, Harry just feels tired of fighting. He doesn’t want to feel like he’s avoiding Louis especially if he’s going to be living here permanently. Also, Harry would rather have Louis in his life in any way he’ll have him, even if they aren’t mates, or boyfriends. Harry thinks that he’d be happy even just being Louis’ mere acquaintance.

So, Harry buries all of his feelings and everything he really wants to say to Louis right now, deep down while plastering on a small smile.

“You’re completely right. I think that would be the best thing for us to do. Consider it all forgotten.” Harry says.

Harry thinks he sees a flash of hurt in Louis’ eyes, but it disappears just as quickly as it appeared.

  
✦  


Louis knows that he and Harry are doing the right thing by agreeing to put everything behind them, but he’d be lying if he said his words don’t hurt. Yes, it was Louis’ suggestion, but some part of him still wants Harry to show some sort of remorse for what happened all those years ago.

Maybe it is best for Louis to put it behind him. It’s obvious Harry wants to and there’s no point in being hung up on someone who doesn’t want him anymore. So, he smiles back at Harry and they get back to their table where their friends await.

They eat, and talk and catch up.

Harry and Liam talk about the company, Zayn talks about things at the tattoo shop, and there’s a pause where they all look at Louis waiting to hear from him. Louis takes a sip from his glass of water preparing to expose himself before his friends...and Harry.

“The shop’s doing good. Phil is still struggling a bit, but he’ll get the hang of things.” Louis says.

“Shop?” Harry asks. His eyes haven’t left Louis and he looks genuinely interested in what he has to say.

Louis can’t help but blush at that. “Um yeah. I own a music shop. Reckless Records on State Street.”

Harry’s eyes widen a little in surprise but then he smiles. “That’s great.” He says.

“Thanks.” Louis says, his face heating up. He and Zayn make eye contact and he’s looking at him with a concerned look checking in to make sure Louis is okay with all of this. Louis flashes an assuring smile. He may still need some time to be completely okay, but he thinks that this might be the start in finally getting there.


	7. Chapter 7

Harry isn’t sure what he’s doing here. Okay he totally does. 

Ever since Louis talked so passionately about his record shop, he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about it. So now, he’s standing right in front of it, staring at the building and waiting to decide on his next move. He could easily just go back home since his curiosity has been satisfied now that he has seen it in person, but Harry can’t seem to force himself to walk away. It’s sort of like his legs are glued to the ground and he can’t make them move.

There’s a ‘Reckless Records’ blue and green neon sign on the front. There’s also a sign at the door that reads ‘yes, we are open’ followed by the store hours listed below that. 

Harry decides to gain all the courage he can muster to finally make his way inside. The place is a lot bigger than it looks from the outside and there’s a lot going on. There’s a section that contains a collection of records that would have put Harry’s old one to shame. The collection is massive. Harry feels a little jealous because it all reminds him of the times that he and Louis used to just lay on his floor and listen to music in his bedroom for hours. 

There’s also a sign on the wall that says they buy and sell new and used vinyls. 

“Welcome to Reckless Records, can I help you find anything?” A young man behind the counter interrupts Harry’s expedition. 

“I’m just looking around, thank you.” Harry tells him before he continues exploring the records section. He browses around for a few minutes before his eyes scan the rest of the shop. 

On the other side of the store there’s a section that has different instruments on display. When he gets closer, he sees a young boy struggling to strum his guitar. He then catches sight of Louis right next to the boy showing him where to place his fingers on the strings to play the right note. 

When Harry’s eyes explore the rest of Louis’ face, he notices his nose ring that had been missing the other night, and when Louis smiles softly the metal of his lip ring reflects against the light. Louis is wearing a black tank top with the words ‘skate tough’ in white letters that fits perfectly around his slim frame. 

Louis’ arms are littered with tattoos and from where Harry is standing he can see the ‘It Is What It Is’ he saw on him last time. He’s wearing black cut off shorts and the tattoos also decorate his muscular legs and parts of his ankles. Harry has to bite down on his bottom lip. 

Seeing Louis like this, this newer version of him, it’s so overwhelming. 

Harry used to know Louis. He used to know what his favorite album was, and his favorite nail polish color. He also knew that he loved to wear his pair of vans that had the hole on the side, but Louis would refuse to replace them. Harry knew  _ everything _ about him. And now. Now, it feels like he’s discovering this entirely new person and he hates that because they were supposed to end up together. They were supposed to move in together and live happily ever after. 

Maybe he and Louis would own this shop together, and Harry would give violin lessons while Louis did the guitar lessons. But things didn’t turn out that way did they? And it’s all because of Louis. Harry knows that he agreed to put everything in the past, but with all of this new information, he’s finding it very hard to do so.

A knot forms in Harry’s throat, and he finds himself rushing out of the store before Louis can catch sight of him. Harry walks out of the storefront and onto the sidewalk, needing to get as far away from Louis Tomlinson as he can.

 

✦   
  


After many attempts at trying to talk himself out of going, Louis walks up the steps of Harry’s house. He isn’t quite sure what he’s doing here. Well, actually he does. Harry had invited all of them to a housewarming barbeque at his house, and Louis didn’t want to be a jerk and say he’d rather be anywhere else. 

Well, that’s not exactly true either. Louis, being the masochist that he is, wants to be here. He wants to see where Harry lives and know more about this new Harry. Maybe this new Harry will turn out to be someone Louis doesn’t even like and it will make it easier for him to move on with his life. Maybe it will make Louis realize that Harry was actually doing him a favor in leaving without a word.

Mr. Styles’ words start playing in his mind and Louis shuts them down as soon as they came. He can’t do this. Not now. 

Louis rings the doorbell and takes a deep breath, hoping he can make it through this day. Harry opens the door with a smile on his face.

“Hey, Louis. Come on in.” 

“Thank you.” Louis walks inside and hands Harry the dish in his hand. “I brought a potato salad.” He tells Harry.

Harry takes the dish and looks down at it, then back at Louis. “Thanks. Come on, everyone is out on the patio deck.” 

They walk through the living room and the kitchen before they get to the patio. Liam is standing by the grill flipping burgers and Zayn is sitting at the table talking to Niall and his mate Natalie. As soon as they see him and Harry walk out, Niall lights up.

“Louis!” He jumps up from his seat to embrace him in a hug. “How are you?”

“Hey Ni. I’m good how about you? Haven’t seen you in a few weeks.” Louis says. 

Louis finds a seat next to Zayn and accepts the bottle of beer that Harry offers. 

“Yeah, sorry about that. Natalie here is expecting and she’s been having a rough first trimester.” Niall explains as he wraps his arm around Natalie. Natalie rubs at her small baby bump that is barely there and smiles bashfully.

“Wow, congratulations! How many kids will it be now? Four?” Louis asks. He’s lost count at how many children they have since Natalie seems to always be pregnant when he sees them.

“Oh no. This little one is going to be our fifth.” Niall announces proudly, kissing Natalie on the cheek.

Niall and Natalie have been together since Louis’ senior year of high school. He remembers Niall always talking about the pretty omega he had met at Harry’s coming of age party and they have been inseparable ever since. They bonded after college and pretty much started having babies as soon as they became mates. They’re almost too much for Louis to handle sometimes because it’s like they’re unintentionally rubbing their happiness in his face showing Louis what he could have had with Harry. 

Louis gulps down his beer, feeling the need to have alcohol in his system to erase those thoughts from his mind.

When the food is finally ready, they all sit down to eat. It’s pretty nice with the wonderful weather and the delicious food, Louis almost forgets that he’s in his ex mate’s house. 

Louis notices Liam whispering something in Zayn’s ear that makes him smile and he nods. Liam stands up to address them.

“Zayn and I would like to make an announcement.” Liam begins. “We decided to bond, and we’re going to be having a bonding ceremony at the end of the summer.”

Louis’ eyes shift to Zayn who is grinning so wide and he feels so happy for his best friend. They all say their congratulations to the pair, and Louis stands up to hug them both. As Louis hugs Liam, his eyes fall on Harry who is staring straight at him with a sad look on his face. Louis averts his gaze right away, not wanting to make this moment about them. He can’t. He won’t.

“Excuse me.” Louis says, feeling the need to get some air. He knows they’re outside, but he can’t be around people right now, especially Harry. He walks into the house, hoping to find the bathroom so that he can have a moment to himself, but he’s never been here so he’s just walking around lost in Harry’s home.

“Lou?” Louis freezes where he is and closes his eyes hoping it’s just a figment of his imagination and not Harry calling after him. He doesn’t have the energy to do this right now.

But it isn’t Louis’ imagination, because he feels a hand on his arm turning him around to face Harry.

“I’m looking for the bathroom. I need to find the bathroom.” Louis mumbles looking at anywhere but at Harry. “Where’s your bathroom?” He asks, pulling away from Harry and continuing to look around.

“Louis please stop and look at me.” Harry says in his alpha voice. Louis stops in his tracks. The echo of Harry’s voice sending shivers down his spine.

Louis faces Harry again, but this time with a furious glare. “You have no right…” he begins.

“I have no right? You have no right to be upset right now.” Harry counters.

Louis’ eyes widen. “What?”

The sound of Zayn walking into the house through the sliding glass doors interrupts them. Louis doesn’t know if he should be thankful about that or not.

“Hey Lou, you alright?” Zayn asks. Louis’ gaze is still on Harry whose face looks pained. 

Louis is forced to look away to address his best friend. “I’m fine.” He says even though his tone says otherwise.

“Harry can you leave us alone for a minute?” Zayn asks. His tone leaves no room for argument. Harry looks like he wants to say something, probably wanting to continue their discussion or whatever it was, but instead he lets out a frustrated breath and walks away, leaving Louis and Zayn by themselves.

“What was that all about?” Zayn asks as soon as he makes sure Harry is gone.

“I don’t know Zee.” Louis says. He really doesn’t know what happened. Harry sounded like he was the one that was wronged, which is leaving Louis very confused and angry. Because Harry has no right.  _ He’s _ the one that broke them.

Zayn doesn’t look like he believes Louis, but he lets it go. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Okay. What is it?” He asks, grateful for the change of subject.

“I want you to be my best man.” Zayn tells him.

Louis suddenly forgets everything that just happened with Harry, and his lips curve into a wide grin. “Oh my God, Zayn. I feel honored.”

He surges forward to hug his best friend.

“That’s not all I wanted to tell you.” Zayn says when they pull apart.

“Okay…”

Zayn takes a deep breath. “Liam is going to ask Harry to be his best man too. I just want to make sure you’re okay with that because you’ll probably have to work together to plan our pre-bonding party.”

Fuck. Zayn’s right. Not everyone has a pre-bonding party, and some couples decide to have theirs separate, but Zayn and Liam have always said they’d want to do theirs together.

Louis puts on a fake smile. “I’m sure Harry and I will be fine. Plus, we’ll probably just hire a couple of strippers and have the party at my house.” 

Zayn punches Louis in the arm. “No strippers! And no penis shaped anything.”

“You’re such a spoilsport.” 

  
✦  
  


The next couple of weeks feel neverending for Harry. There have been meetings upon meetings, and he had a short business trip to visit their manufacturing company. He returned to an endless amount of messages and emails that he hasn’t been able to finish going through them all since he got back into town. 

By the end of the second week, Harry is nearing his breaking point. Liam hasn’t been around either because he’s had his own things to attend to, so Harry is ready to rip his hair out. His office phone rings, and he answers it with a frustrated huff.

“Yeah?” 

“I’m sorry to bother you Harry, but there’s a Mr. Tomlinson here to see you.” Carl tells him. Harry’s heart stops for a second. What is Louis doing here? 

“Um, don’t worry about it Carl. Have him come in, please.” Harry says before hanging up.

Harry stands up and runs his hand through his hair even though there’s no mirror in sight to check and see if it looks okay. He straightens out his blazer and tie before sitting back down trying to look normal. A few seconds later, Carl is opening his office door and leading Louis inside.

“Would you like anything to drink?” Carl offers them.

They both say no at the same time, and Carl excuses himself, leaving Louis standing in the middle of his office.

“Hey Louis, have a seat.” Harry tells him. Having Louis just standing like a lost puppy makes him feel nervous.

“Thanks.” Louis says, settling himself on one of the chairs across from Harry’s desk.

“So what can I help you with?” Harry asks. He folds his hands on his desk, waiting for Louis to respond.

Louis’ eyes wander around his office before focusing back on Harry. “Um...sorry to barge in on you like this without notice. I don’t have your number and I needed to talk to you.”

A nervous feeling settles at the pit of Harry’s stomach. They haven’t really talked since that night at Harry’s house when they were about to talk about their past. Harry isn’t sure if he should be relieved or annoyed that Zayn interrupted them, but he hasn’t seen Louis since then.

“It’s okay. Could use a bit of a distraction right now anyway.” Harry says, his lips twitching into a smile. “What did you want to talk about?” A part of him thinks that Louis might want to resume their conversation from before, but at the same time Harry doesn’t think Louis would come to his job to do that.

“I wanted to talk about Liam and Zayn’s bonding ceremony. Since we’re the best men, we should probably get together to discuss the pre-bonding party, don’t you think?” Louis asks.

And right. Harry had been so busy that he hadn’t realized he would need to reconvene with Louis about that. He remembers when Liam asked him to be his best man and how happy he was to do it, and that happiness morphed into dread at the thought of having to work closely with Louis. Harry can’t help but think about how their entire friendship started when they were assigned to work on a project together for art class. And why does his mind do that? Digging up painful memories that Harry would rather leave in the recesses of his mind.

“You’re right. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that, but work has been taking up most of my time.” Harry explains.

“It’s okay. I don’t mind taking over the planning if you need me to.” Louis offers. 

And as easy as it would be for Harry to agree to that and having an out from having to plan the party with Louis, he doesn’t want that. 

Harry shakes his head. “No, no...I want to help. Work stuff is starting to wind down so maybe we can meet up sometime this weekend and start a plan?” He suggests.

Louis stares at him as if he’s finding it hard to believe him, but eventually he shrugs. “That works for me,” he says. “Why don’t we meet at my shop and we can go to lunch nearby to discuss the details.”

They exchange numbers and it feels strange to have Louis’ number in his phone again. Harry had gotten a new number and phone after graduation, wanting to have a fresh start. 

After that, Louis leaves Harry’s office and Harry finds it hard to get back to his work before Louis had walked through his office. 

 

✦   
  


It’s 11:55 AM and Louis can’t stop staring at the front door. He and Harry had agreed to meet at noon and Louis’ heart stops every time the bell chimes when someone walks through the shop’s entrance. He keeps looking at the time and tapping his fingers on the counter. Louis had offered to take care of the cash register until Harry got here, while Phil took care of organizing the new vinyls that arrived.

The bell chimes again and Louis’ head snaps up. This time a very soft looking Harry is walking through the door. Even though his hair is short now, he still has some baby curls sticking out. He’s wearing jeans with holes on the knees and a Halsey t-shirt. It’s a stark contrast to the business Harry Louis saw just a couple of days ago in his fancy suit and tie. He finds that he likes this version so much better.

Harry smiles when he sees Louis. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Louis greets. He gathers his things and walks around the counter. “Let me just let Phil know I’m heading out.”

Harry nods and Louis walks towards the vinyl section to find Phil bent over unpacking some records. He lets Phil know he’ll be back in a couple of hours and returns to the front where he expects Harry to be waiting. Instead, he finds Harry browsing through some records in the ‘B’ section.

“You ready to go?” Louis asks him.

Harry looks up. The smile he had is gone and Louis wonders why. “Um yeah. Let’s go.”

Without another word, they exit the shop.

They walk down the street as Louis tells Harry about a really good Mexican place that’s just around the corner. When they get there they find a seat in the corner and they order their food before the waitress leaves them alone. 

Louis gets his iPad out of his messenger bag, opening up a document so that he can type out notes on whatever he and Harry discuss.

“So I was thinking, since it’s summer, we can have the party outdoors.” Louis begins. Harry nods along so he continues. “Something like a beach or luau theme?”

Their waitress returns with their food and they dig in. 

“I like that.” Harry says with a mouthful of taco. “Where would it take place? I have a pretty big yard at my house. I wouldn’t mind hosting.” He offers.

“I do too.” Louis says. “I have a swimming pool that people can use as well if they want to bring their swimsuits and stuff.”

“You had me at swimming pool.” Harry tells him, and they both smile. 

They continue to discuss and plan, and they split different responsibilities between the both of them. They come up with a tentative guest list that they’ll need to get approved by Zayn and Liam, and they assign each other tasks they need to accomplish. Harry is in charge of the catering and drinks, while Louis is in charge of the music and decorations. 

By the time they finish eating, they’re wrapping things up. They head back to the record shop after they’re done planning for today, and Louis isn’t sure why, but he was expecting it to be a bit more nerve wracking than it had turned out to be. It actually felt pretty easy, almost comfortable between them. Louis doesn’t want to think about what that could mean.

“Would you mind if I browsed around your shop for a bit?” Harry asks when they arrive back at Louis’ shop.

“Of course.” Louis says as they walk through the front door. “Is there anything specific you’re looking for?”

Harry has that sad look in his eyes again, and he shrugs. “Pretty much anything from my old collection. My father got rid of all my records when I left for college.” 

It catches Louis off guard that Harry is talking about that time, but it now explains Harry’s sad expression.

“I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you pick any record you want and it’s on me.” Louis offers. “When you’re done, we’ll go to my house. There’s something I have for you.” 

Harry’s eyes soften. “You’re not going to tell me what it is?”

Louis shakes his head. “Can’t ruin the surprise, now can we, Harold?” The nickname slips out unexpectedly and they both pause, eyes wide. Louis coughs. “I mean. Just trust me on this.” He continues, giving Harry a meaningful look. He isn’t sure what Harry sees in his eyes, but he’s nodding and turning around to browse the records without any protest. Louis lets out a soft exhale. 

  
✦  
  


Harry would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous as hell. As soon as Louis told him they should go to his house because he has something for him, his heart hasn’t been able to stop racing. He’s currently following Louis’ Range Rover on their way to his house. Harry has never been, and the curious side of him would like to get to see where Louis lives.

Louis turns into the driveway of a massive house. Harry thinks it could probably be considered a mansion, even. It makes Harry happy to know that Louis is doing really well. Harry exits his car and meets Louis up in front of his home. Louis unlocks his door and he presses the code into the alarm system before letting Harry inside.

“Right this way.” Louis tells him.

Harry follows Louis down a corridor and up the stairway that spirals up to a second floor. Everything inside is so open with a lot of natural light filtering through the sunroof. Once they get to the second floor, they walk down the hallway and stop in front of the second door they pass by.

Louis opens the door without a word, and as soon as Harry’s eyes catch sight of what’s inside he gasps.

Harry swallows hard. “Louis. What is this?” He asks, stepping inside carefully almost afraid that this is all a dream and if he blinks everything around him will disappear into thin air.

“Not long after you left, um, Celia contacted me. She said your dad was going to throw all these records away and she and I both knew how important they were to you and how hurt you were going to be if they were destroyed so…we saved them.” Louis explains, his voice is shaky and nervous. As if Harry is going to be upset that all this time Louis has had his entire vinyl collection.

Harry turns to look at Louis and sure enough, he looks worried. “Ho-how?” He whispers. “How did she even get a hold of you?”

Louis scratches the back of his head, shifting from one foot to the other. “Um Will told her where I lived, so she came to see me. We made a plan. Rented a storage unit since I obviously couldn’t fit them all where I lived. She helped me pay for it for a while, until I was able to pay for it myself. When I moved here, I just brought them with me. I knew you’d want them, eventually. I wanted to make sure you had them when that time came, I guess.”

Harry doesn’t know what to say. What does he say to something like that? The man that broke his heart is also the one that saved Harry’s most prized possession. A part of him wants to yell ‘how dare you!’ and the other wants to kiss him all over and thank him for what he’s done. But he can’t kiss him because Louis isn’t his to kiss, and he won’t yell because in spite of the heartbreak Harry endured, Louis is giving him a piece of himself that he’d been missing all these years. It may sound dramatic, but it’s true.

Instead, what Harry does is surge forward and hug Louis. Louis is caught off guard almost falling back, but Harry holds him steady. 

“Thank you. Thank you so much Louis.” Harry murmurs against Louis’ neck. He takes advantage of the position they’re in to scent him as discretely as he can because he’s a masochist and still so completely in love with Louis. Even if Louis doesn’t want him back.

When they finally pull away, Harry wipes a few stray tears away. They’re happy tears and he can’t stop grinning like a fool. 

“Will you help me load them into my car?” Harry asks.

“Of course. We’ll probably have to load them in both cars since there are quite a few of them.” Louis points out.

Harry stares at Louis, hoping his gaze can show how much this means to him. “Again, thank you Louis. You have no idea what this means to me.”

Louis is smiling too, his eyes crinkling at the corners. Harry has to look away because Louis is like the sun, you can’t look directly at him for too long before melting into a puddle of affection for the man.

  
✦  
  


Louis hasn’t seen that kind of smile on Harry’s face for eleven years and it makes him feel just as warm and fuzzy as it did all those years ago. He realizes then that he’d still do anything to make Harry smile this way even after all these years have passed.

“It’s really no problem at all.” He insists. The way Harry keeps staring at him, it’s starting to become a little too much. 

Louis would be lying if he didn’t say that he hates that he’s losing one of the only pieces of Harry he has left, but he’s happy to finally be giving him back a part of him that obviously means so much.

They load up both of their cars and Louis follows Harry to his house where they unload them into Harry’s living room.

There’s this tension that has been lingering between them since they arrived back at Louis’ house. Like there’s an elephant in the room that needs to be addressed but neither of them wants to go there, too afraid of what will come of it. Louis knows he agreed to leave things in the past, but he has so many questions that he still needs answers to, he doesn’t know if he’ll be able to keep quiet about it. However, he ends up convincing himself that right now isn’t the time to bring that up, but he does agree that it will happen, Louis just isn’t sure when.

They stand awkwardly in Harry’s foyer after they finish, unsure of what to do next. Harry looks like he almost doesn’t want Louis to leave, or maybe it’s just his imagination playing tricks on him.

“Well, I’ll talk to you soon, Lou. Thanks for everything.” Harry says.

They walk to the front door and Harry opens it for Louis. “Bye Harry.”

Louis gets into his car and leans his head on the steering wheel, letting out a long sigh. His chest aches at the realization that he didn’t want to leave either.

  
✦  
  


Harry opens his closet and stares at it. He closes his eyes, willing himself to get the courage and just do it. It’s not like it’s going to kill him or anything. He takes a deep exhale before he moves his clothes out of the way to retrieve his abandoned violin case that had been packed away with his other music stuff.

The case feels heavier than he remembers as he’s pulling it out, and places it on the bed. He runs his fingers over the leather case, trying to remember the last time he ever touched his violin. It’s been too fucking long.

Harry opens the case and it feels like he’s reuniting with an old friend. And as he thinks about it, it totally is. His violin has been there for him through everything, even before Louis ever walked into his life. It helped him have an escape after the heartbreak of losing him after graduation, and now Harry feels like shit for having neglected his most beloved instrument.

He takes the violin out of its case carefully, resting it right beneath his chin as he reaches for the bow with his other hand. Harry inhales as he places the bow on top of the strings, his fingers finding the right note from memory, and as he exhales, he lets himself get lost.

It’s like he never stopped playing. His hands work with practiced ease over the familiar notes like he’s been doing this his whole life— he practically has. 

The melody is soft and it takes Harry to another place in time. A time when he had it all. When he had music, he had Louis, he had  _ love. _

A tear trails down his cheek as he continues to play. It’s never been this emotional to play his violin, but somehow right now it is. It brings back too many memories that Harry has been repressing for this very reason.

When Harry plays the last note, the room goes quiet and he already misses the music. He doesn’t know how he’s been living without this or why. In this moment, Harry makes a decision. He’s going to bring music back into his life. It may not be like it used to be, when he had the world at his feet composing music, but it will be good enough for now. 

Harry gets to work in composing music for Liam and Zayn’s bonding ceremony. It’s the least he can do in exchange for everything Liam has done for him. In this moment, Harry is choosing music, and hopefully someday, love will make its way back to him too.


	8. Chapter 8

The pre-bonding party is in full swing and everyone seems to be having a good time. 

Harry and Louis decided to go for a luau theme, so there are lei around everyone’s necks and people dressed for the occasion. There are people in the swimming pool, and others dancing on the makeshift dance floor, while others just stand around drinking and having a good time.

There’s a makeshift bar where people are getting unlimited drinks and a buffet table with theme appropriate food. Harry thinks that all around they did a good job. Zayn and Liam look to be having a good time, and that’s all that matters, really.

Harry lost sight of Louis a while ago and isn’t really sure where he went so he makes the rounds to make sure everything is running smoothly. The bartender lets Harry know that they’re running low on ice so he makes his way inside the house to grab a few bags when he sees them.

Louis is standing against the kitchen island with a smile on his face while another man whispers something in his ear. Louis giggles at whatever the guy says and he places his hand on his chest. Harry scents the air, and realizes that the guy is a beta, but it doesn’t make him feel any less jealous. Harry clears his throat to get Louis’ attention and they both startle where they stand.

“They need more ice out at the bar.” Harry informs Louis.

Louis pushes the guy back springing into action. “Oh okay. They’re in the freezer downstairs.” He says, beginning to lead the way. He turns around to address his little companion, “I’ll be right back.”

Harry knows, he knows he has no claim over Louis, but he can’t help the jealousy that runs through his veins. He wants to say something, wants to know who that guy is and what his business is with Louis, but he doesn’t know how to do that without sounding like a jealous ex.

They walk down the stairs in silence, the stomping of their feet the only noise between them. Louis must sense Harry’s mood, but he doesn’t say anything about it. They get to the deep freezer and Harry grabs a bag and slams it on the floor before going in to grab another one, doing the same thing with it.

“Okay, what is it?” Louis finally breaks the silence. 

Harry stops himself from reaching over for a third bag and stares at Louis instead.

“What?” Harry lets go of the freezer door and it slams shut.

“Don’t give me that shit, Haz. There’s obviously something bothering you, so what is it?” Louis asks crossing his arms across his chest.

Harry runs a hand through his hair and huffs. “Nothing, okay? Let’s just get these bags upstairs.”

Without another word, Harry grabs the bags and hauls them up the stairs, leaving Louis behind.

 

✦   
  


Leave it up to Harry Styles to ruin Louis’ mood. He was actually having a pretty good time hosting the pre-bonding party they’d planned without a hitch. Louis was pretty proud of the result, and he was happy to see Liam and Zayn having a genuine good time.

Luke is a regular at the shop that flirts with Louis shamelessly. Louis basks in the attention because Luke is hot and it’s been a while since he’s gone on a date. He was relieved to find out that Luke was a beta because it has become a strict rule of Louis’ that he doesn’t date any alphas because they’re more trouble than they’re worth his time. Luke has been trying to get Louis to hang out with him, so he saw the pre-bonding party as his perfect opportunity to invite him and hang out with him outside of the shop.

The problem now is that Harry won’t stop glaring in their direction. Right now Louis and Luke are on the dancefloor dancing along to Avicii’s “Wake Me Up” trying to have a good time. But he can’t stop feeling Harry’s burning gaze aimed his way and it’s distracting as hell. When the song is over, Louis excuses himself to go to the bathroom because he needs a break from Harry’s gawking.

Instead of using one of the downstairs bathrooms, Louis goes for the insuite in his room, needing a few moments to collect himself. He uses the bathroom and splashes some cold water on his face, closing his eyes and trying to breathe evenly. Louis hates that Harry still has this effect on him even after eleven fucking years. 

Why couldn’t the time spent apart from each other help him get over Harry? Why does he even care what Harry thinks or does anymore?

Once Louis feels that he’s ready to head back out, he opens his bathroom door to rejoin the party, but he jumps as soon as he catches sight of Harry standing right by his bed.

“Jesus, Harry, what the fuck are you doing up here?” Louis puts his hand to his chest, his heart beating a million beats a minute. 

Harry approaches Louis carefully and gets close to him, so close Louis can feel his breath on his face and it takes everything inside of Louis to not lean in and close the distance between them. 

“I just needed to…” Harry whispers. He swallows audibly and takes a deep breath. “I need to know if you’re with that guy. Are you with him?” Harry’s voice sounds needy, almost desperate, and it’s a side Louis has never seen before.

Louis scoffs putting a bit of distance between them so he can breathe. “So what if I am, Harry? You have no right to care who I go out with. You lost that right a long time ago.”

Hurt flashes in Harry’s eyes and he looks away pacing back and forth before returning to stand close to Louis. “Lou,  _ please _ . Just let me...let me…”

“Let you what?” Louis shouts, scowling at him.

Harry’s eyes roam Louis’ face and it makes him feel self conscious for a moment, until suddenly Harry is surging forward. His hands grab hold of Louis’ face and he pulls him closer, capturing his lips into a seething kiss. Louis’ eyes are wide at first, but as soon as their lips make contact with each other, they close and he lets himself get lost in the feeling of Harry’s warm lips against his. Louis places his hands on Harry’s waist, his fingers touching the sliver of exposed skin on his love handles. Harry feels warm, and soft, and it makes heat travel through Louis’ entire body. Harry’s tongue licks over the seam of his lips and Louis can’t open his mouth fast enough, inviting him in and licking into his mouth with a moan. 

Their kiss becomes more passionate, like they’re trying to make up for all the lost time they have spent apart. Harry gently pushes Louis against the wall and starts kissing his way down his neck. Panic rushes through Louis as he realizes that Harry is on the side where his covered up bond mark tattoo is, so he tilts his neck the other way, letting Harry resume his kissing there. 

Louis whines as Harry traces his teeth on the ridge of his neck and sucks gently on it. He’s definitely half hard in his jeans right now and probably beginning to get wet. The growl that comes out of Harry only confirms Louis’ suspicions. 

Harry drops to his knees and looks up at Louis with hooded eyes and red bitten lips. He places his hand right against the zipper of Louis’ jeans.

“Can I suck you off, please?” And Louis knows he should deny Harry this. He should say no, because it’s a bad idea and Louis will only end up hurt again. But he has a very horny Harry Styles on his knees before him begging Louis to suck him off and saying no just sounds like the craziest thing in the world right now.

Louis nods. “Yes, yes, yes.” He babbles, and that’s all the permission Harry needs before he’s undoing Louis’ jeans and pulling them down to his ankles along with his underwear. Louis’ cock springs free, and he doesn’t miss the way that Harry licks his lips at the sight before him. He nuzzles his nose into Louis’ crotch inhaling him, and feeling him.

“Fuck. Your scent. I’ve missed it so much, baby.” Louis closes his eyes shut as tight as he can, because if he does, he can almost pretend that Harry means it and that he isn’t just saying it because he’s turned on.

Before he knows it, Harry is taking him in his mouth in one quick swoop. Louis whines because the feeling is so much, almost too much for him to handle. Harry’s mouth is hot and wet and tight and Louis needs to think about other things so that he doesn’t come right here on the spot like some teenage boy. He slams his palms against the wall that’s holding him up, trying to grip onto something because he feels his knees going weak, feeling like jelly.

Harry’s eyes remain open, and he’s watching Louis fall apart as he continues to hollow his cheeks and suck the life out of him. Before Louis can get his release, Harry pulls away with an obscene smacking sound.

He licks his lips and says, “Turn around.”

Louis complies immediately, turning around and placing his hands against the wall, sticking his ass out. His thighs feel sticky with the slick that’s been dripping down his thighs. Harry begins by licking his inner thighs first, and Louis groans.

“Harry, fuck!” The sensation is so much, but also not enough because Harry’s mouth isn’t where Louis really wants it to be. 

Before he can say anything though, Harry is grabbing his asscheeks and spreading him open, swirling his tongue around his hole before licking into him. Louis thinks his legs would be giving out right now, but Harry is holding him in place, not letting him go anywhere. Harry moves in and out of him with his tongue until Louis is panting, nearly breathless. Harry stops, and Louis wants to cry out for him to keep going, but instead he begins to work his mouth up his spine until Harry is on his feet again nibbling on the back of his neck. 

“Want to knot you so bad.” Harry whispers into Louis’ ear, it makes goosebumps prickle all over his skin.

“Yes, yes. Please. I want your knot.” Louis begs.

Harry unzips his jeans and drops them to the ground, untangling himself out of them. 

“Come here.” Harry moves Louis to the bed, making him bend over it, ass up and hands on the mattress. When Harry finally, finally pushes into Louis they both gasp like it’s the oxygen they’ve been craving to breathe. Louis doesn’t have time to think about anything before Harry is drilling into him fast and hard. His grip is so tight on Louis, he can already tell there will be bruises in the morning and he can’t wait to see the marks Harry will leave behind on his skin.

“Oh God!” Louis yelps and the sound only makes Harry fuck into him harder, with more purpose and it isn’t long before Harry’s knot is forming and he’s coming. Louis follows up with his own release painting the duvet beneath him.

They both fall on the bed as they work on catching their breath and waiting for Harry’s knot to come down. Silence falls between them, the only sound being their rapid breathing. Louis closes his eyes and realization hits him at what just happened. He can’t bear the thought of Harry saying this was a mistake, so as soon as his knot finally goes down Louis works on putting his clothes back on.

Harry sits on the bed leaning against his elbows, watching Louis zip up his jeans. Worry floods his face, or is it remorse? Louis can’t quite tell because he can’t read Harry as well as he used to. His room smells like their pheromones and it’s almost suffocating Louis, and he needs to get out of here, right now.

“Lou…” Harry begins.

Louis raises his hand up. “Don’t, Harry. I know. This shouldn’t have happened. I’m sorry.” He walks out of the door before Harry can say anything else. Hurt and shame takes over him, but he can’t find one single trace of regret.

  
✦  
  


It’s 4AM and Harry can’t sleep.

He hasn’t been able to stop replaying Louis’ words in his mind. 

_ Don’t Harry. I know. This shouldn’t have happened. I’m sorry. _

They play over and over in his brain and Harry can’t focus on anything else. 

After Louis left him in the bedroom Harry tried to look for him, but then he got called into a limbo drinking game and there was no sight of him after that. So Harry went home to wallow by himself, but he hasn’t been able to stop tossing and turning thinking about what happened between them.

Harry’s body is still craving Louis, it always is. But now that he’s gotten to have him again, it’s like he’s opened Pandora’s Box. He doesn’t think he’ll ever get enough of his scent, his body, his warm, soft milky skin. Harry’s mouth is watering just at the thought.

Harry puts his face into the pillow and groans. He can’t keep torturing himself this way. He needs answers. Answers that he should have asked for the moment Louis walked into his life again. The answers he’s been waiting eleven years for. Harry knows they’ve both been avoiding it, pushing those painful memories and thoughts back, but fuck that. Harry needs to know what happened, and why they aren’t talking about it now. Why?

With determination, Harry gets out of bed, throws some clothes on, and puts on his shoes to leave his house. If Harry still knows Louis like he thinks he does, he’s probably not getting any sleep either.

Harry drives the ten minutes it takes to get to Louis’ house. He sees all but one light off upstairs where Louis’ room is. He parks his car and climbs the few steps to Louis’ front door, ringing the doorbell three times.

A freshly out of the shower Louis answers the door, his hair still wet and matted on his head. As soon as he sees Harry, his eyes harden.

“What are you doing here?”

Harry tries not to let Louis’ annoyed tone hurt him, instead, he focuses on why he came here in the first place. 

“We need to talk.” Harry says. His tone is firm, but he makes sure not to use his alpha voice, not wanting to force Louis to have a discussion if he really doesn’t want to.

Louis stares at Harry, as if searching for something in his eyes. But then finally, he lets out a sigh, his shoulders slump and he opens his door.

“Come in.” He says resigned.

Harry follows Louis inside, and they walk into Harry’s living room. There are parts of the house that are a bit disorganized from the pre-bonding party, but since the party was held outside, the living room is clean. The lights are off, but the moonlight shining through the open windows makes things visible enough for them.

Louis sits on the couch putting his hands inside his hoodie, but Harry feels like he needs to stand up for everything he wants to say, so he remains where he is. Louis looks at Harry expectantly and he supposes this is it. This is his chance to finally bring everything to the table.

Harry shifts from foot to foot trying to think of where to even begin, until he decides to just speak.

“I know we agreed to leave the past in the past, but I don’t want to do that anymore, Louis. I need answers, and I need them from you.” Harry begins.

A confused look paints Louis’ face as he tilts his head and wrinkles his forehead, but he doesn’t stop Harry, so he continues.

“You know, I replay that day in my head so many times. Like a movie reel inside my mind trying to pay attention to the little details, anything I might have missed, if there’s something I didn’t see. Every time I come to the same conclusion.” Harry gazes at Louis who has his full attention, so he breathes deeply and keeps going. 

“We had everything, Louis. We were in love. At least I’d like to think we were. But what I don’t seem to understand, what has kept me up for many nights, many years...is why you just left without an explanation.”

Louis wants to interrupt, but Harry stops him. “Please let me finish.” He begs, his voice beginning to break. Louis lets him.

“I remember running late to the coffee shop. First with my dad trying to tell me how I was ruining my life and doing anything he could to stop me. Then, I realized that I’d left my phone so I had to turn around to get it. When I got to the coffee shop you weren’t there. I didn’t get any texts or calls from you with any sort of explanation, so I figured maybe you lost track of time packing. So, I went to your apartment. I knocked so many times even after I knew you weren’t there. I didn’t want to believe it. I…” A sob rips out of Harry and he can’t stop it. He wipes the tears from his eyes. 

When Harry looks up, Louis is standing now, mere inches away from him. He has tears in his eyes too.

“Harry.” Harry averts his eyes not wanting Louis to see him breaking down, but he guesses it’s too late for that anyway. Louis pulls his chin to make him look at him. Louis’ eyes are filled with tears and Harry somehow feels bad that he caused that. 

“I didn’t leave you.” Louis says. 

Harry doesn’t understand. Maybe he didn’t hear Louis right since his voice is rough from the crying.

“What?”

“I didn’t leave you. I…” He wipes at his face, sniffling as he does. “Okay, listen. I did decide not to go to Connecticut, but I texted you. I wanted to talk about it, maybe come up with something that would work for both of us. But I  _ wanted _ to be with you, more than anything, Haz.”

“I was going to call you when I got interrupted from a call from Zayn. He was presenting as omega at the library and he needed my help, so I ran to help him because he was in danger. I sent you a text letting you know that I couldn’t go to Connecticut, but that something urgent came up and I wanted to talk to you about it. I promise you that I didn’t leave you.”

Louis is staring at him with desperate eyes as if willing Harry to believe him. And Harry does, but at the same time he’s confused as hell.

“I tried calling you the next day when I was finally able to charge my phone, but your phone was disconnected. I went to your house and your dad said.” Louis’ voice cracks, but he takes an audible breath and seems determined to continue. “He said you’d gone to Yale. That I was just a fling and you had moved on. Because you were going to have your fill of omegas at college.”

Harry lets out a humorless laugh. “He told me you’d drop me the moment you found out I didn’t have money. I thought he was just trying to get into my head, but when I realized you were gone and hadn’t heard from you, I thought maybe he was right. I...Fuck! I’m such an idiot.”

“But I did send you a text.” Louis insists. His eyes still shedding tears.

“Then what? Why didn’t I get your text?” Harry asks. He replays that scene in his mind again. He drove back to his house and bursted through the door on a mission to retrieve his phone and leave as soon as he could because he was already late and he thought Louis was waiting for him. But then…

“It was my dad.” Harry says out loud as realization hits him. 

“Your dad?” Louis asks.

Harry begins to pace back and forth in the living room. He runs his hands through his hair gripping on to it, going back to that memory. “I went back home to get my phone and when I got there, my dad had my phone in his hand.”

Harry pauses in front of Louis as his eyes widen when he realizes what Harry is implying. “Your dad deleted my text message.”

“My dad deleted your text message.” They both say at the same time, only Harry says it laced with anger. “Fuck!”

Harry resumes his pacing and he wants to punch a wall or break something. Anything.

“Harry calm down.” Louis says soothingly, even though Harry could see that he’s still crying.

“I can’t, Lou. I can’t calm down. I’m so fucking pissed!” He growls. “All this time I thought you had left, when in reality, it was my father manipulating us to keep us apart.”

Harry’s breathing becomes heavier, and he can feel the heat of his anger radiating through his body. He needs to get out of here. 

“I can’t...I need to get out of here.” Harry says, turning to leave.

“Harry wait.” Louis tries to stop him, but Harry doesn’t listen. He walks out of the door and gets into his car. He drives and drives and drives, knowing exactly where he needs to go.

-

The sun is barely rising when Harry pulls up to the cemetery. He jumps out of his car and weaves through different plots trying to find the one he’s looking for. When he gets to it, he stops right in front of it. His breathing is a lot heavier now since he practically ran to get here, and he’s still seething with rage. 

Mr. Styles’ plot is the biggest one from the other ones surrounding it. A picture of him with that satisfied grin Harry used to hate so much is engraved onto it. Just seeing his face makes Harry even more mad.

Harry lets out a loud guttural shout as he violently kicks his foot into the grass of his father’s grave. He gives it all the energy he has in him and pieces of grass and dirt begin to fly everywhere. He kicks and he kicks and he kicks until his legs go weak and he falls into a heap on the ground. 

A body wracking sob rips out of him and he drops his face into his hands.

“Why couldn’t you let me be happy?”

“Why didn’t you love me for me?”

“Why did you have to ruin my life?” 

All the questions he’s ever wanted to ask his dad pour out of him. He knows he can’t get any answers, but it still feels good to let it all out after years of keeping things bottled up inside. The tears continue falling, and Harry cries until he tires himself out. When he has finally calmed down, he gets back on his feet and wipes off some of the dirt and grass off his clothes. 

He looks at his father’s plot one last time, wiping at his cheeks with the sleeve of his sweater.

Harry sniffles. “I hope you rot in hell.” He mutters.

With that, Harry turns around and walks away, vowing to never return.

 

✦   
  


It’s been five days and Louis still hasn’t heard anything from Harry. 

He’s been trying to give him time and space, especially after Harry found out that it was because of his father that Louis and Harry had spent eleven years apart from each other. Even as Louis thinks about it he gets angry, so he can only imagine how upset Harry must be.

So, Louis has been spending a lot of time in his studio. Art is like his best friend— always there when Louis needs it to vent all of his emotions and frustrations onto the canvas. He’s been painting non stop for hours every day. Often times he goes in the middle of his shift, leaving one of his employees to watch over the store. It has become very cathartic for him letting all his feelings transfer onto the brush. When he does that, he makes sure to put some music to match what he’s letting out, often going for something harder like Linkin Park or Korn. It really helps him, and by the time Louis is feeling somewhat human again, there’s still no word from Harry.

Louis considers stopping by his job, but Zayn mentioned that Liam said he’s taken some time off which doesn’t help with his worries. 

So he waits.

On the eighth day, Louis is preparing to close the shop for the day. It was pretty busy at the shop, so when things finally calmed down he let his employees leave a little early with pay because they deserved it. Louis is placing things back in order when he hears the front door bell chime.

“We’re about to close.” Louis calls over his shoulder, working on making sure the drum sets are in the right order.

“I’m not here to purchase anything.” That familiar deep drawl stops Louis in his tracks. He turns around slowly and gasps.

Harry stands before him and Louis feels like he’s gone back in time eleven years. Harry’s hair is still short, but it’s gotten a bit longer and his curls are beginning to spring free. He has his glasses on, and Louis thinks it might have something to do with why his eyes look a bit puffy and tired.

Harry smiles bashfully and yes. This is  _ his _ Harry.

Louis strides over to him and wraps him in a warm embrace. “Harry.” He breathes, inhaling that wonderful scent that he’s missed so much. He can feel Harry doing the same thing.

Harry’s arms wrap around Louis’ waist, and they stand there for a long time. It could have been hours or just a few minutes, but neither of them wants to let go. When they finally do break apart, Louis finds that he isn’t even sure where to begin. 

“Are you good?” He decides to go with.

Harry shrugs. “Not really. But I think I will be eventually.”

Louis nods. “I’m closing up right now. Do you want to come over so we can finish talking? If you’re not up for that I totally understand. We can just, I don’t know, hang out?”

Harry seems to consider his words as he hums. “How about we hang out and then talk tomorrow?” He compromises. 

Louis smiles softly. “Sounds good to me. Want to meet at my place?”

“Yeah. I’ll go grab us something to eat on my way.” Harry offers.

When Harry leaves, Louis can’t wipe the grin off his face.

-

There still might be a lot of things that Harry and Louis need to talk about and resolve, but for one more night they’re setting it aside and just spending time with each other. In a way things feel lighter, like the wall that was between them has broken down and now they’re able to fully be themselves around each other.

Harry brings over some Chinese takeout and they settle on Louis’ couch like old times to watch something on Netflix. After they eat, Louis cuddles into Harry’s side, nuzzling his face into his neck for a few moments, letting himself be enveloped in Harry’s scent. Harry wraps his arm around Louis and pulls him closer, so close Louis is practically on his lap, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

It’s an unspoken agreement between them that Harry stays over for the night, when it gets late and they head upstairs to Louis’ bedroom without even talking about it. Louis gives Harry a toothbrush and they wash up before bed and then settle under the covers.

There’s still a lingering sadness in Harry. Louis noticed it in his movements all evening, and he can see it in his eyes right now, as they lay side by side facing each other. 

“Turn around, love.” Louis says softly. Without protesting, Harry turns over, his back facing Louis. Louis wraps his arms around him, spooning him until he settles perfectly in his arms. Louis kisses Harry atop of his head before he takes one hand to run his fingers through his hair. It isn’t long before he hears Harry’s soft snores. Louis leans in to kiss him on the back of his neck before he buries his head in Harry’s neck and lets sleep overtake him.

-

Louis wakes up to an empty bed, the warmth of Harry’s body he had wrapped around him gone. For a moment Louis wonders if it was all a dream, if Harry never came to the shop looking all soft and quirky with his baby curls. Just as he’s about to accept that possibility, the sound of pans crashing startles him. Louis jumps out of bed peering over the doorway to make sure the sound isn’t a figment of his imagination, and sure enough, he hears Harry’s voice echo.

“Fuck!”

Louis runs to his ensuite to use the toilet and brush his teeth before going to the kitchen to see what all the commotion is about. A flustered Harry is putting pans away and then he realizes his eggs are burning so he jumps to tend to those. The sight is comical and endearing at the same time.

“You burning down my house?” Louis questions, and Harry turns around with a spatula in his hand like he’s been caught red handed.

“I’m sorry. I was trying to do something nice for you by making breakfast. And then I didn’t know where you stored your pans. And then they all came crashing down. And well...you know the rest since you’re here.” Harry sputters. He blows air out, trying to move the baby curls off his forehead, but it does nothing, so he huffs.

“Need some help?” Louis offers. 

Harry’s shoulders relax as he nods eagerly. “Yes, please.”

Louis offers to make the pancakes while Harry takes the eggs out of the heat and begins to cook the sausage. They work in companionable silence while Harry’s phone plays a random playlist that he chose. Louis finds that he feels really comfortable around Harry like this. With the night they spent together and now with them cooking the next morning, it all feels very domestic. 

It’s how Louis pictures their mornings to be like if they would have ended up moving in together after high school. Louis would make them breakfast in the mornings and they’d kiss before they parted ways and they’d see each other again at dinner where they would catch each other up on their days and Harry tells him all about the classes he’s taking that semester while Louis probably complains about something at work.

Louis shakes himself out of his hypothetical thoughts and focuses on making a decent pancake instead. After burning the first few, he eventually gets the hang of it and manages to make pretty round and fluffy pancakes. When they finish making breakfast, they decide to eat out on the patio under the warm sunlight and fresh air. Harry brings them tea, making Louis’ just the way he likes his and they dig in. 

The food isn’t too bad, except for a few pieces of burnt egg and pancake, but overall it’s good. Louis can feel their impending conversation hanging over them like a dark cloud, just waiting for one of them to bring it up. And it isn’t that Louis thinks the conversation will go bad, but it will probably get emotional again, and he wants to be prepared for that.

“So I want to apologize for storming out the other day.” Harry begins. He puts his fork down, folding his hands on the table and focusing his eyes on Louis.

Okay, so they’re really doing this then. 

“You don’t have to apologize, Haz.” 

“I do, though.” Harry exhales. “If I wouldn’t have given up so easily, maybe…”

“Harry don’t.” Louis lifts his hand up to rest on top of Harry’s. He begins to rub his knuckles gently. “Don’t blame yourself for this. It’s not your fault or mine.”

“But I should have fought harder, Lou. I should have given you the benefit of the doubt. Instead, I let my father get to me, let him manipulate me and my life.” Harry’s voice begins to crack and so does Louis’ heart at hearing him try to blame himself for all of this.

“Listen. We can’t keep dwelling on the past, okay? What’s done is done and we can’t change it.” Louis says.

Harry is silent for a moment, taking in Louis’ words. Louis’ gaze at Harry is unwavering as he observes the different emotions that flash through his face. His bottom lip quivers a little and then he clears his throat, nodding.

“Okay. Yeah...okay.” His eyes travel up to meet Louis’. “Let’s start over. A clean slate. We can get to know each other all over again. Make up for all the lost time.” 

Louis’ hand cups Harry’s cheek. “I’d really love that. So much.”

Harry’s eyes search Louis’ face, for what, he isn’t quite sure but then suddenly he’s grinning so big, his dimple caving into his cheek so beautifully. It’s like Louis is time travelling to when they were two sappy teenagers falling in love all over again. 

Louis leans in and places a soft chaste kiss on Harry’s lips. His eyebrow quirks playfully and he says, “Hey, you got a light?”

They both giggle at that until Harry is capturing Louis’ lips again. They kiss soft and languidly for a few seconds before pulling apart again.

“You know, I actually haven’t seen you pick up a cigarette since I’ve gotten back.” Harry points out.

Louis smirks, licking his lips. “I quit ages ago. I was mostly doing it to look hot. But then I realized lung cancer isn’t quite so hot.”

Harry snorts.

Louis shrugs. “Don’t tell me you didn’t fall for it.” 

Instead of saying anything, Harry pulls Louis onto his lap, wrapping his arms around his waist and nuzzling into his neck. “I would have fallen for you either way.” He admits, eyes getting dark with want.

Louis places his arms around Harry’s neck and pulls him into a scorching kiss. They kiss until Harry stands up, grabbing hold of Louis by his ass.

“Come on baby. We have a lot of lost time to make up for.” He rasps.

Louis wraps his legs around Harry’s waist. “Definitely.”

By some miracle, they make it up the stairs to Louis’ bedroom without incident and Harry places Louis on the bed as he follows, laying between his legs. They lick into each other’s mouths, and as soon as Louis begins to get wet he can hear Harry growling, making their kiss deeper and more needy. Louis loves this, being under Harry and desired by him, but if they are truly starting over, clean slate, he wants to do things differently instead of falling into bed with Harry right away.

Louis places his palms on Harry’s chest and gently pushes him away to get a better look at him. Harry’s eyes are wild, his lips wet with spit and cherry red. Louis needs a moment to catch his breath and close his eyes to make sure this is what he wants to do. It is.

“Harry wait.” He pants.

Harry’s eyes linger on Louis. “What is it?” His voice sounds so rough, Louis’ cock twitches in his sweats, and God. This is going to be really hard. No pun intended.

“We should take things slow, yeah? Like, we just started being us again. Maybe we should wait until we know each other better, this older, newer version of us.” Louis explains.

He can see the struggle on Harry’s face, but eventually his shoulders relax and he’s leaning his head on Louis’ shoulder, breathing him in. 

“You’re right. You’re right. Let’s take things slow.” Harry agrees. He tilts his head up and catches Louis’ lips into a gentle peck. 

They cool off for a few minutes, waiting for their erections and hormones to calm down before they decide to go back downstairs and watch Netflix. As he has Harry’s body close to him while they’re cuddled on the couch, Louis is assured that they’ve made the right decision.

  
✦  
  


“Stop blinking.” Louis orders.

“I’m sorry, but when you’re poking my eye it’s kind of hard not to.” Harry complains.

“Don’t be such a baby. I’m not poking your eye. There we go. All done.” Louis stands back to admire his work with a soft smile on his face.

“Can I see?” Harry asks.

Louis turns to grab the hand held mirror and hands it over to Harry. 

“Oh wow.” Harry is wearing eyeliner for the first time, and he finds that he actually likes how it looks on him. The charcoal lines around his eyes make his eyes pop even more than without it.

“You look hot.” Louis says, still staring at him with his arms crossed. 

“Maybe I should also get my lip pierced. Ooh or my eyebrow.” Harry says.

Louis shrugs. “It wouldn’t look bad at all.”

They lay in bed again— they haven’t moved since they had breakfast— facing each other. They’re both shirtless and Harry has been tracking every piece of ink on Louis’ skin with his eyes. He wants to see them all and know what each one mean to him. Then, his eyes catch something. The words ‘given a chance’ etched on Louis’ arm, and Harry’s smile drops.

Harry takes Louis’ arm, laying it on the bed so he can get a better look at it. He traces the words with his index finger, the movement making Louis shiver beneath him. 

“When did you get this one?” Harry asks, almost whispering.

Louis hums. “Um, that one I got about a month after graduation.” The silence that falls between them says it all. 

Instead of dwelling on that painful past, though, Harry leans down to kiss the ink. “I love it. I think this is my favorite one so far.”

Louis’ eyes bore into him, his lips curving into a smile. He sits up and climbs on top of Harry straddling him.

“Let’s take a look at your ink now, Mr.”

Louis runs his hand down Harry’s bare chest and stops on the swallows on his chest. He traces each one of them before leaning down to kiss them. 

“Those are supposed to symbolize us, you know.” Harry admits.

Louis pauses what he’s doing to look at him. “They are?”

Harry nods. “See.” He points to the one on his left. “This one is a bit smaller. That’s you.”

Louis traces his finger over it again staring at the ink in wonder. Eventually Louis hums.

“I guess we both just couldn’t let go, huh?”

Harry smirks. “Nope.” He wraps his arms around Louis, bringing him close to his chest, before turning them around so that he’s on top. He stops to stare at Louis for a moment, studying the lines on his face, the sharpness of his cheekbones, and the curves of his pretty pink lips. “I never stopped wanting you. Not even when I thought you didn’t want me anymore.” He admits.

Louis’ eyes go wide, licking his lips as he brings a hand up to Harry’s cheek. “Me either.” 

Harry lowers himself to capture Louis’ lips, tasting him, savoring him. He breathes him in deeply, wanting to envelop himself always in his delicious strawberry scent. Harry doesn’t know how he went eleven years without it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Want to go on an adventure?**

Louis receives the text message from Harry when he’s in the midst of a pile of inventory that needs to be put in its right place. He can’t help but grin.

**Where to?**

**You’ll just have to wait and see. I’ll pick you up at 8PM. Be ready xx**

Louis rolls his eyes because of course Harry won’t tell him what he has planned, but it gives him the surge of energy he needs to get through the rest of his day. He leaves the shop at the capable hands of of his employees and heads out the door.

Louis is buzzing with anticipation as he attempts to get ready for whatever adventure Harry has in store. Since Harry won’t tell him where they’re going, he isn’t sure what to wear, so he decides on a pair of black skinny jeans and his Black Sabbath t-shirt. He’s in the bathroom fixing his hair when Harry is ringing his doorbell. Louis takes one last look in the mirror, making sure to splash some aftershave before heading out the door.

“You look really nice.” Harry tells him as soon as he opens the door. 

Louis blushes. “So do you.” And he does. Harry is wearing the tightest jeans he’s ever seen on him, defining his meaty thighs. 

“Hey, my eyes are up here.” Harry’s voice snaps him out of his very dirty thoughts. Louis’ eyes shoot up and Harry has a smug grin on his face.

Louis rolls his eyes. “Don’t wear jeans like that if you don’t want me to appreciate them.” He says.

They both laugh and get into the car.

“So are you still not going to tell me where we’re going?” Louis asks.

Harry pulls out of the driveway and glances at Louis. “I’m taking you on a proper date. We haven’t been on one since we reunited.” He explains.

“Ooh so does this mean you’re going to wine and dine me?” Louis teases.

Harry chuckles. “That’s the plan.”

“Hm. Alright. But, I’m still not going to put out. I’m a gentleman and I demand to be treated as such.” Louis tells him.

Harry’s hand comes up to rest on Louis’ knee and he squeezes gently. “Of course, baby.”

They get to a restaurant downtown and get seated outside, with a lovely view of the city. The waiter takes their drink orders and excuses himself promising to come back to take their food order when they’re ready. 

“Have you ever been here?” Harry asks him.

“I’ve heard of it and always wanted to try it, but never been.” Louis says.

The waiter comes back with their drinks and takes their orders before leaving again. The ambiance is very chill, with the candle on their table and the streetlights being the only source of lights. It makes things feel very romantic, and that’s probably why Harry chose to bring them here.

Louis takes a sip of his wine and catches Harry staring at him with those eyes that to this day still make him melt.

“What?” Louis asks touching his face.

Harry grins, shaking his head. “Nothing. You’re just gorgeous.”

Louis feels his face heating up again, or maybe it’s the wine, who knows. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

Silence falls between them again. And it feels a little awkward, but only because Louis isn’t sure what to talk about. He knows there’s a lot about Harry he wants to know, but he doesn’t even know where to begin. 

“So...I know that becoming CEO of your father’s company wasn’t your original plan, but what were you doing before you came here?” Louis finally gets the courage to ask.

Harry averts his eyes and he stirs his cocktail with the straw. “I was composing music for movies in Los Angeles.” He finally says, sounding like it took a lot out of him to say that. 

Okay, so that might be a sore subject for Harry right now so maybe Louis should talk about something else. But before he can, Harry is already changing the subject.

“What made you want to open the record shop?” He asks. There’s sincere interest in his eyes as he waits for Louis to respond.

And now it’s Louis’ turn to panic. Because it was from the money Louis made from painting that he opened his shop. He still hasn’t told Harry that he’s Blue, and he really isn’t sure why. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t want to ruin whatever image Harry has of Blue. There are many reasons why Louis has chosen to keep Blue anonymous, but he also knows that eventually he’ll have to be honest with Harry about it. 

“I um...When I was in college, I used to go to the shop all the time. It was my little escape from the real world.” (aside from painting, he doesn’t say.) He takes another sip of wine. “I got along with the owner really well. He was a really nice old man who would always tell me when new stuff came in. I would even help him around when I had the time. 

“Anyway, when he told me he was going to be selling the store I decided to buy it from him. I knew that if it was sold to someone else it would probably be made into some type of corporate business thing, and I just really wanted to keep the shop intact. You know, to offer the same thing that it offered me.” He explains. “With a few modern touches I was able to bring it back to life, sort of speak.”

“Wow. That’s amazing, Lou.” Harry says. 

The waiter comes with their entrees and they eat and continue talking. They catch up on a lot of things. Harry talks about college life at Yale and how he and Liam met. Louis tells Harry about community college and how he ended up choosing to study business marketing, which ended up helping him when he purchased the shop. 

“You got lucky. I, on the other hand, am running a business with a music degree.” Harry laughs.

“How’s that been going?” Louis asks, since Harry brought it up.

“It’s not as bad as I imagined, to be honest. But it’s mostly because I have Liam there. If it weren’t for him, I would have drowned in emails and meetings by now.” Harry admits.

They finish eating, and Harry insists on paying with the excuse that he’s still trying to wine and dine Louis. They decide to walk around by the lake to let their food go down and so they could keep talking. 

“Thank you for this lovely adventure, Haz. I’ve had a great time.” Louis tells him once they’re walking back to the car.

Harry wraps his arm around him and kisses him on the cheek. “You deserve this and so much more, baby.”

Louis halts his steps, Harry stopping with him. He pulls Harry into him and leans in to kiss him. Their lips swipe against each other and Louis nibbles on Harry’s bottom lip.

Harry pinches Louis’ side. “Don’t do that if you don’t want this to go any further.” He tells him.

In this moment, Louis is tempted to say fuck it, and take Harry home and have his way with him, but once he lets his hormones calm down, he knows that isn’t a good idea. At least not yet.

“Alright then. How about we go back to my place for dessert.” Louis says. Harry’s eyebrow quirks and Louis slaps him playfully. “Not that kind of dessert. I meant mint chocolate chip ice cream.”

Harry sighs. “I guess that will have to do for now.”

They both giggle at that, and Louis feels like things are finally falling back into place.

  
  


✦   
  


Harry walks through the familiar doors and is hit with the smell of coffee grounds and caramel. It’s like he’s being transported back in time and he instinctively checks to see if Louis is behind the cashier counter with the blue streaks in his hair. Being back in this coffee shop, where he spent a lot of his time with Louis, brings back so many memories, and Harry finds that he likes that.

When it’s his turn, he orders his favorite drink and makes sure to tip generously when it’s ready and finds the seat he spent hours doing homework on. He takes a sip of his beverage and closes his eyes, savoring the taste. He thinks that the way Louis used to make it tasted so much better.

Louis’ scent hits him before he sees him and Harry’s eyes shoot open as Louis walks towards him with his own drink in hand. He settles himself on the chair across from Harry, and for just a moment he lets himself pretend that they’re 18 again.

“Why are you sitting so far from me?” Harry pouts. 

Louis rolls his eyes playfully and gets out of his chair to sit on Harry’s lap. “Is this better, dear alpha sir?”

Harry tickles Louis on his side. “Very funny. But yes, this is much better.”

Louis slaps him playfully before finally leaning in to give him a proper kiss. Harry tightens his hold around Louis’ waist and leans his head against his shoulder.

“So, my mom wants to meet you. Like, officially.” Louis comments nonchalantly.

Harry freezes. “Really?”

“Why do you sound scared? Yeah. I told you, she’s been dying to meet you since we were young.” Louis tells him.

“I’m not scared. Just nervous, I guess. What if she hates me?” Harry asks.

Louis twists his body to get a better look at Harry. He places his hand on Harry’s cheek. “Darling, that’s impossible. She’s going to love you. Probably more than me if I’m honest.” He jokes.

That makes Harry relax a little as he laughs as well. “Okay. Let’s do it then.”

-

Meeting Louis’ mom turned out to be a lot sooner than Harry expected. That very weekend, they were invited over for dinner, and Harry has been a bundle of nerves. 

Louis arrives to pick him up, and Harry makes sure to bring a batch of his famous cookies— because all children love cookies and he really wants Louis’ siblings to like him. 

“Ooh are those your famous cookies?” Louis asks reaching over for the container.

Harry slaps his hand away. “No, these aren’t for you.”

Louis pouts playfully, but then smirks. “Are you bribing my family to like you with your delicious cookies?”

Harry chances a glance at Louis and grins. “Maybe.”

Louis cackles and pulls out of the driveway. It doesn’t take long at all for them to arrive and when they do, Harry’s nerves return in full force. Louis places a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“They’re going to love you. I promise.” Louis reassures him.

Harry nods, takes a deep breath, and they both climb out of the vehicle. 

A brunette woman that isn’t much taller than Louis answers the door. She’s grinning and her eyes are crinkled at the corners just like Louis’ eyes do.

“Hello darling, come on in.” She greets Louis, kissing him on the cheek before her gaze meets Harry’s. “Hi, Harry. It’s nice to finally meet you.” She opens her arms and Harry goes in easily. Her embrace is warm and comforting and Harry’s nerves melt away on the spot.

“Hi, Mrs. Deakin. It’s nice to finally meet you too.” Harry tells her as they pull away.

“Please, call me Jay.” She insists.

They walk into the house and Harry realizes he still has the container with cookies. He hands them over to Jay. “I made these for everyone.”

Jay takes the plastic container in her hands. “Oh Harry, that’s so nice of you. Thank you.”

“Achoo!” One of the twins comes running into the room going straight for Louis. Louis leans down to grab her in his arms and lift her up.

“Dory, my love. How are you?” He smacks a kiss on her cheek and she yelps. At the same time the other twin comes running in also yelling for Louis. Louis puts Doris down to grab his brother. “Ernie! How are you buddy?”

They sit in the family room, and that’s when the kids finally seem to notice that Louis didn’t come alone. 

“Who’s that?” Ernest points to Harry.

Louis looks up, he hasn’t been able to stop smiling since they’ve arrived and Harry loves seeing him like this with his family.

“This is my friend Harry. Can you say hi?” Louis asks them.

Both twins give bashful smiles and wave before going back to play with their toys. 

-

The drive back home is pretty quiet, both of them feeling exhausted from the day they had. The twins ended up warming up to Harry in no time, especially when Jay let them have a cookie after dinner and told them he had made them. Both Harry and Louis got pulled into games of hide and seek and legos.

“I had a lot of fun today.” Harry tells Louis, breaking the silence.

Louis smiles. “Me too. They really loved you, you know?”

“Yeah?” Louis nods.

Harry looks out the window. The lights of the city night sparkle against the pitch black sky.

“I loved them too.”

  
✦  
  


Harry hasn’t been able to shake off the nerves he’s been feeling since he woke up this morning. Today is a big day. 

He’s been rehearsing nonstop for the past week, his fingers are calloused and rough. People are beginning to trickle inside and taking their seats. Each time someone else enters through those doors, Harry’s heart beats faster and faster. He tries to stop his hands from shaking but it doesn’t work, so he continues practicing his breathing techniques so that he doesn’t have a panic attack in the middle of Liam and Zayn’s bonding ceremony.

It’s just that, Harry hasn’t played in front of a crowd in a really long time. Harry had gathered enough people to create a string quartet so that they can play the music for the processional. Music that Harry composed on his own as a gift to Liam and Zayn.

Harry scans the room to see if he can find any sign of Louis because he thinks that seeing him will help him calm down. But there’s no sight of him anywhere, and it’s probably because he’s in one of the back rooms with Zayn. Harry sighs.

Once he’s as relaxed as he could be, Harry gets the go ahead from the ceremony planner to begin playing because they’re about to begin. With that, Harry and the rest of the quartet take their places and begin the music.

As soon as the first note plays, Harry feels all of his apprehension melting away. The room is quiet, the only sound being the beautiful melody playing that Harry created. Liam is the first to walk down the aisle with his mom. He looks so radiant he could blind the entire room, and Harry couldn’t be happier for his best friend. Next is the flower girl— Louis’ little sister Doris— and then the ring bearer— Louis’ little brother Ernest. The siblings look adorable walking down the aisle in matching outfits and the whole crowd awws as they pass by. 

The quartet finishes the first song, and they switch their music to the next one for Zayn’s entrance. Again, they all begin to play, and this melody is a little more upbeat, but still in tone with the ambience.

That’s when Zayn walks down the aisle with Louis, and Harry’s knees go weak. Zayn looks amazing like he always does, but Louis. Louis is a gorgeous man, and right now he’s dressed in the best fitting suit he’s ever seen on him. The navy blue suit fits him like a glove, accentuating his curves in the most perfect way, Harry’s mouth goes dry at the sight. 

When Louis and Zayn get to the front of the room, Louis places Zayn’s hand on Liam’s and steps aside to stand next to his best friend. When the quartet finishes the song, Harry quietly sets his instrument aside and moves to stand next to Liam. That’s when Harry and Louis make eye contact. Louis’ eyes are crinkled at the corners, and Harry wishes he could tell him how good he looks, but their attention is brought back to the commencement of the ceremony by Niall who’s officiating.

Niall does an amazing job officiating, and even tears up a little bit when Liam and Zayn exchange vows. Harry can’t stop sneaking glances at Louis, and even gets caught doing it a few times, but he doesn’t even care. When the couple are pronounced as mates, everyone claps and people throw flower petals as the pair exit the room together.

That’s when Harry finally gets to approach Louis. 

“Hey. You look very nice.” Harry tells him as soon as he’s within hearing distance.

Louis’ cheeks pinken and he smiles. “Thanks. So do you.” Now it’s Harry’s turn to blush.

They walk out together to congratulate their friends. Both Liam and Zayn look so happy, and can’t stop asking if everything went okay with the ceremony. 

They’re all called by the photographer to take a few pictures, but then eventually they’re led to the reception area where there’s an open bar and a DJ. Harry and Louis find their assigned seats and find that Niall and Natalie are already there. Niall enjoying a cocktail and Natalie taking a sip of her Shirley Temple.

“Hey guys. So how did I do?” Niall asks as soon as they approach the table.

“You did great, man.” Harry tells him and Louis agrees.

“Thanks! Maybe someday I’ll officiate for you guys too.” He says winking.

Harry’s eyes widen a little at Niall’s comment and he and Louis look at each other and shake their heads laughing. He’s sort of relieved that his comment didn’t freak Louis out, if he’s honest. He and Louis may be dating again and taking things slow, but sometimes their past can still be a sore subject and it’s something they try not to talk about much anymore.

Louis has this glow to him that Harry can’t quite describe, and he catches him staring a few times, but he can’t say that he minds. They get seated for dinner to be served and everything is great. With Harry’s nerves he hadn’t eaten anything all day so he tears into his chicken as soon as he’s served. 

Liam and Zayn get called to have their first dance as mates, and everyone around them fawns over the couple. They chose Etta James’ “At Last” as their song, and they both can’t stop smiling. They kiss whenever the crowd clinks on their glasses and Zayn leans his head on Liam’s shoulder while Liam whispers things into his ear. Harry’s gaze shifts toward Louis who is also watching his best friend and he can’t help but picture them like that someday. Harry doesn’t want to get too ahead of himself, but he’s always known that Louis is the one for him, even when he thought Louis had left. 

Harry shakes those thoughts away though, and continues watching the happy couple. Eventually the dance floor opens up for everyone and people don’t waste any time to join the others. Harry grabs him and Louis another cocktail at the bar, and when he returns he finds Louis and Niall having a discussion about who the best Avenger is. 

Harry sits down and slides Louis’ cocktail over for him and just sits to admire his features. At one point Louis catches him staring and he blushes.

“What? Do I have something on my face?” 

Harry shakes his head. “Nope.”

At that moment John Legend’s “All of Me” begins to play and Harry extends his hand out to Louis. “Can I have this dance?”

Louis rolls his eyes playfully and takes Harry’s hand. They get to the middle of the dance floor and Harry takes Louis’ hand and places his other hand on his waist as they begin to move to the music slowly. They don’t say anything at first, it’s just the music and them, and Harry’s eyes don’t leave Louis as they dance. Harry feels like they’re the only ones in the room, which is how he feels most of the time when he’s with Louis. Harry leans in to scent Louis, wanting to immerse himself in his sweet scent.

“Haz.” Harry’s Louis filled trance is interrupted by the omega’s soft, raspy voice. Harry pulls away to get a better look at him.

“Yeah?” Louis is staring at him with hooded eyes. The sea of blue in his eyes contain so much it’s almost overwhelming for Harry. 

Louis bites his lip before saying. “I’m ready.” 

Harry’s eyebrows wrinkle, confused at what Louis is talking about. But then Louis’ stare gets darker, laced with desire and oh. He’s ready.

Harry swallows hard, licking his lips. “Okay.” He rasps.

Louis leans his head against Harry’s chest and they continue dancing, but now Harry can’t stop thinking about what they might get up to tonight once they go home.

-

The silence on the way to Louis’ house is palpable. The closer Harry gets the harder his heart beats. He can already feel the heat pulsing in his groin and he’s really cursing the invention of traffic lights right now. 

When they finally pull up to Louis’ driveway, Harry can’t get out of his car fast enough. As soon as they cross the threshold of Louis’ house, Harry is pushing Louis against the wall in the foyer, licking into his mouth without preamble. Louis whines and his body immediately becomes lax under Harry’s touch. Harry takes Louis’ thighs and hikes him up, making sure to get a good grip of him. Louis goes easily, giggling as he wraps his legs around Harry’s waist and neck. It’s a bit difficult to move since they’re both still in their ceremony attire, but Harry makes due. He carefully carries them up the stairs into Louis’ bedroom, laying him on the bed and moving to take his clothes off. Louis does the same and a wave of his scent hits Harry nearly bringing him down to his knees. He growls and jumps on the bed again, resuming their kissing. He works his way down Louis’ throat, traveling down to his collar bones, making sure to trace his tongue along Lous’ ‘It Is What It Is’ tattoo. He takes one of Louis’ nipples into his mouth and sucks on it while pinching the other one between his fingers. Louis makes the most beautiful sounds, it only motivates Harry to suck harder, no doubt leaving his mark as he goes. Harry bites and nibbles down Louis’ torso, tasting the saltiness and sweetness of his skin, revelling in it. Before he gets to Louis’ cock, Louis stops him.

“I want to suck you off.” He tells Harry.

Harry nods eagerly and they switch places with Harry laying on the bed and Louis settling between his legs. He doesn’t even warn Harry and just takes him into his mouth, sucking at his head. Louis swirls his tongue around it before taking him in deeper. 

“Lou, your mouth. Fuck.” Harry can’t stop looking at him and the way that his cheek hollow out, as he moans like it’s the best thing he’s ever tasted. 

Just as Harry feels he’s on the edge, Louis pops off with a loud slurp. He licks his lips and comes up to kiss Harry, letting him taste himself.

“Wanna ride you.” Louis says.

“God yes.” Harry makes a move to open Louis up, but he is stopped again.

“No worry.” Louis says.

Confused, Harry wrinkles his eyebrows but then Louis turns around showing his ass to Harry and he nearly chokes.

“Holy shit.”

“I came prepared.” Louis explains as he reaches to gently pull the green jeweled plug out of his ass. It’s one of the hottest things Harry’s ever witnessed. 

Louis turns back around to straddle Harry’s hips, reaching back to take Harry’s cock in his hand and guide it inside of him. Harry is sitting with his back against the headboard, taking a deep breath as his dick nudges into Louis’ hole. They both gasp as Louis bottoms out, making it very hard for Harry not to buck his hips up and begin fucking into him. Harry grabs Louis’ ass as Louis begins to fuck himself earnestly as he moves. His hands come up to Harry’s shoulders to hold himself up as he works on swiveling his hips back and forth. Harry watches mesmerized as Louis moves so fluidly with his dick inside of him, he thinks he might die from it.

Louis feels so tight and warm around Harry that he needs to try not to come too fast, willing his knot to stay put just a little bit longer. It becomes so much, almost too much, seeing Louis with his skin now glistening with a layer of sweat taking Harry’s cock so well. They kiss hungrily, a mess of teeth and tongue, and before long Harry is flipping them over, needing more friction. He slams into Louis and Louis yelps as Harry fucks into him. Louis takes his cock in his hand and jacks himself off as Harry continues to thrust into him. When Harry’s knot swells and connects to Louis, they both shout. Louis is spilling white streaks of come all over his chest and Harry is seeing stars. 

Harry drops his head down to Louis’ neck, scenting him, loving the way their pheromones interact everytime they connect like this. 

“Fuck.” Harry pants, laying a kiss on Lous’ neck.

“Yeah.” Louis says just as breathless. 

They lay there for a while connected and relaxed, staring at each other and kissing languidly as they wait for Harry’s knot to go down. 

Laying here in bed with Louis feels different than all the other times they did this in the past. Because they don't have to worry about their parents coming home, or feel like they have to hide at all. They could just be. And that’s one of the best feelings in the entire world. 

  
✦  
  


It’s the last day of summer and Harry and Louis are having a lazy day lounging around in his swimming pool. Well, Harry is in the pool and Louis is laying on his lounge chair trying to get a tan before summer is gone for good. 

“Come on Lou. I’m getting bored over here.” Harry calls.

Louis huffs, lifts up his sunglasses to peer at Harry. “Why don’t you come here and lay with me for a bit?.” He puts his shades back on and lays his head down. He can hear Harry let out a sigh and kick around in the water.

The splashing around stops and Louis figures that Harry is finally giving in to lay in the sun with him, but before he can even look to see if he’s right, he’s being lifted up from his chair. Louis’ legs are up in the air as he hangs upside down from Harry’s shoulder.

“Harry put me down right now!” He slaps Harry on his back. Harry just laughs hysterically and he jumps into the water, taking Louis with him.

The water is cold but not unbearable, and Louis pushes himself up to come up for air. When he finally does, Harry is already there giggling like a maniac. Louis splashes him in the face.

“I hate you so much right now.” Harry doesn’t seem to believe him.

So, Louis jumps on Harry’s back and now they’re both wrestling in the water. Of course, Harry is stronger, so he easily grabs Louis and dunks him into the water. That only fires Louis up even more, and even though he’s running out of breath he’s still determined to take Harry down. He continues to be unsuccessful, so Louis bites Harry’s arm as he tries to grab a hold of him again.

“Ow!” Harry yelps. “That’s not fair, Lou. You can’t fight dirty.”

Louis shrugs. “Don’t dish it out if you can’t take it, love.”

Harry pouts so Louis wraps his arms around his neck to kiss it away. The soft pecks turn into full on making out, and before long Harry’s biting at the bottom of Louis’ lip making him whine.  They pull apart and Harry is looking at him with those dark eyes that make Louis feel like he’s about to be eaten alive. His eyes roam his face, making Louis feel self conscious but at the same time loving every second of the attention. Then, he hears Harry gasp as his eyes focus on something around Louis’ neck.

“Lou.” Harry’s finger traces the bond mark tattoo on his neck, and right. Louis flushes. He has been more careless about covering it up lately, not caring if Harry happened to see it. But now it must have washed off with all the rough housing they’ve been doing in the water.

“I didn’t want to live without my bond mark.” Louis explains, his eyes trailing up to meet Harry’s. Harry can’t stop staring at it, his index finger still tracing the outline of the mark. 

Harry takes his bottom lip between his teeth. “Why didn’t I think of that?” He wonders.

Louis shrugs. His skin is feeling hotter by the second, especially if Harry keeps touching him. 

“I take it back.” Harry says.

“What?”

“I take it back. This tattoo is my favorite.” Harry mutters with a smile on his face. And then he’s leaning in, taking the skin on Louis’ neck between his teeth and sucking on it.

“You know it’s not gonna stay right? That’s not how it works.” Louis points out.

Harry faces him again. “I know. Still want to have my mark on you anyway that I can.” He says before going back in.

It isn’t long before Harry has Louis pinned to the end of the swimming pool as they jerk each other off, lips roaming everywhere they can reach, before they’re both coming. They continues to kiss as they both come down from their orgasms.

Harry takes Louis’ face in his hands and stares at him in wonder. “I love you Louis Tomlinson. I always have, and always will.”

Louis grins, pulling Harry closer to capture his lips again, hoping to convey how he feels with the swipe of their mouths. 

  
✦  
  


Harry stops by Louis’ shop after he gets off work to surprise him with his favorite iced coffee. When he walks through the door a very exhausted looking Louis greets him with weary eyes. As soon as he sees the cup in Harry’s hand he brightens up.

“Oh my God. I love you.” Louis groans, kissing Harry on the lips before taking the iced coffee and taking a sip.

“Bad day?” Harry asks.

“Like you wouldn’t believe. First, Phil calls in sick so I had to cover for him, and then Jenna’s kid had to be let out of school because she was sick and so I wasn’t going to make her come in when she has a sick kid at home. I had two guitar lessons scheduled today, and we also had a shipment come in and I was the only one here to receive it and...fuck. It’s just been a really long exhausting day and I can’t wait to go home.” Louis vents.

Harry walks to stand behind Louis to rub his shoulders, making him moan.

“God that feels so good. Thanks, babe.” Harry leans in to kiss the back of his head.

“What do you want me to do?” Harry offers.

“What?”

Harry shrugs. “I’m here and you’ve been swamped all day. So put me to work.” 

Louis chuckles at that. “Why don’t you unpack the shipment that came in today. It’s in the back room.”

“On it, boss.” Harry goes in for another kiss before he gets to work. 

Harry unpacks boxes and places the inventory where it needs to go. A couple of times he has to ask Louis where to put something, but for the most part he does pretty well on his own. When a rush of people come through the store, Harry tries his best to help where he can so that Louis doesn’t feel so overwhelmed. And then finally, they’re getting ready to close.

Harry puts up the ‘closed’ sign on the door and both he and Louis lets out a sigh of relief. Louis comes up to Harry to wrap his arms around him.

“Thanks for your help.”

Harry kisses him on his forehead. “Anytime, love.”

“Alright, I gotta count the money in the register, and all that.” Louis says.

“Okay. Let me go throw all those boxes I unpacked away.” Harry tells him. “Where do they go?”

Louis is opening the register and he points to the back. “There’s a door in the back that leads you to the alley, you can just throw them in the dumpster out there.”

Harry does just that, and is able to find the back door, so he dumps all the boxes in the container outside. When he finishes with that, he makes sure to close and lock the door. He stumbles upon another door Harry hadn’t noticed, and he can’t help but wonder where it leads to. Harry doesn’t remember Louis mentioning anything about it when he gave him a small tour of the store. 

Harry grabs the door knob and twists it, the door opening and revealing a set of stairs. It’s dark in there, so Harry isn’t sure where the stairs lead to, but the scent of paint hits him immediately. Harry climbs up the steps slowly, trying not to trip and break something. He’s finally able to find the light switch, and as soon as he flips it on his eyes go wide.

“Harry?” Harry can hear Louis’ voice at a distance, but he doesn’t move. Before him is an unfinished painting sitting on an easel along with different art supplies. In the back there are more paintings that look to be complete. The style of these paintings are all very reminiscent of Blue’s style of painting. Harry’s jaw drops.

“Harry?” Louis’ voice is right behind him this time, so he turns around slowly. Louis’ face looks unsure, worried.

“It’s you. You’re Blue, aren’t you?” Harry asks.

Louis sticks his hands inside the pockets of his hoodie and nods. “Yeah. Yeah, I am.” He averts his eyes from Harry when he says that.

“Oh my God. Louis!” Harry yelps. 

Louis’ head snaps up, eyes wide. Harry has the biggest grin on his face, he can’t help it. 

“You’re the artist I’ve been obsessed with this whole time? How? When?” It all feels so surreal to Harry, like he’s in a dream.

Louis shrugs. “Even though the Night Owls retired, I still kept painting. Especially after you left for Yale, I needed an outlet. Instead of turning to drugs or alcohol I turned to art. It’s the only thing that keeps me sane when I’m having a bad day. Anyway, someone stumbled upon one of my paintings and it all spiraled from there. I never wanted people to know who I was because even though things have progressed and male omegas now have the same rights as everyone else, there are people that still look down on us. I don’t want people judging me before even seeing my work.”

“You’re amazing.” Harry says, moving forward to wrap his arms around Louis. “You’re so brave and smart and good, Louis. I’m so lucky to have you in my life.”

“You aren’t mad at me for not telling you?” Louis asks.

“Never. If anything I love you even more, if that’s possible.” 

Louis blushes at that, and he moves to put a piece of hair behind his ear. “I want to show you something.” He says, before walking toward the group of paintings in the corner and looking for one. When he finds the one he’s looking for he pulls it out. 

“This is one of the first paintings I did, but I never sold it.” Louis explains before turning the canvas around so Harry could see it.

The painting is beautiful, just like all of Blue’s paintings are. It’s an abstract portrait of what Harry would look like if he had longer hair. Even though it’s abstract, you can still tell it’s Harry by the eyes and lips.

“I pictured what you’d look like at the time. It had been a few years and I wondered if you let your hair grow out. So I painted it.” Louis says.

“I love it so much.” Harry tells him.

“Anyway, this is where I come in the mornings. It’s what I like to do before I start my day.” Louis admits.

“Will you let me come with you next time?” Harry asks. He can’t wait to see Louis— Blue— working on his next masterpiece.

“Sure. I’d love that.” Louis says. “Come on, let’s go to my place, I’m starving.”

They both start making their way back down the stairs, making sure to lock up before leaving.

“I’ll come over, but I can’t spend the night.” Harry informs him.

Louis’ forehead wrinkles. “Why not?”

“I start my rut tomorrow, so I won’t be available for a few days.” He says.

“Oh.” Louis murmurs. They walk towards their cars in silence, Louis seems to be lost in his thoughts. 

“So I’ll meet you at your place? Do you just want to order pizza today?” Harry asks.

“Yeah. Pizza’s fine.” Louis says without much enthusiasm.

Harry wonders what’s going through Louis’ mind.

  
✦  
  


Louis loves his boyfriend, he really does, but sometimes he can be a complete oblivious knothead. 

“Why haven’t you asked me to spend a rut with you?” Louis blurts out in the middle of their dinner. Harry freezes and turns to look at Louis.

“What?”

Louis sighs. “You’ve never asked me to spend a rut with you. Not even when we were in high school, and I want to know why. You get to spend my heats with me, why can’t I do the same for you when your rut comes?”

Harry chews on his pizza slowly, probably trying not to choke on it. He places is it down on his plate to look at Louis in the eyes.

“I’d love nothing more than that, Lou, but. I just. I’m scared.” Harry admits.

“Scared? Why?”

Harry bites his lip before meeting his gaze. “When I’m in rut I find it harder to control my hormones and I act more on instinct than anything. I’m just scared that I’ll hurt you.”

Louis wraps his arm around Harry’s shoulders. “Babe. Look at me. I’m not a glass doll that breaks easily. My body was made to be with you, my alpha. I can take whatever you give me. Plus, I know you would never hurt me.”

“Are you sure? Because I can get kinda rough, and stuff...I. I spent a rut with an omega once in college and I think I scared them away. I don’t want that to happen to you.” Harry explains.

Louis tries not to think about Harry being with another omega. That’s in the past and they’ve moved on. “It won’t. I promise. Plus, I like to be roughed up a bit, if you haven’t noticed.” He nudges Harry who breaks into a smile.

“Yeah, you're not very subtle.” Harry says.

Louis slaps him playfully. “Hey.”

“So are we good? Will you let me spend your rut with you?” Louis asks again to make sure.

Harry kisses him on the lips then nods. “I’d love that.”

-

Louis is shaken awake in the middle of the night by a very very horny Harry.

“Lou. Louis. I need to knot you. Come on.” Harry rasps.

Louis has never heard Harry sound this desperate and needy before. He finds that he kind of likes it, if the slick seeping out of him is anything to go by.

“Okay, okay.” Louis springs into action, but before he can move to straddle Harry, he’s being pushed against the mattress face down. Harry slips into him, making Louis gasp at the intrusion and so very turned on. He finds himself already hard against the duvet. Harry holds Louis down, his hand on his neck as he fucks into him. The feeling is so good, Louis is a whining mess feeling the weight of Harry on his back and not able to move...it’s overwhelming in the best way. Louis finds his eyes rolling in absolute pleasure as Harry continues slamming into him until he’s coming, his knot stretching Louis in the most delicious way.

“Oh God!” Louis shouts. Harry’s grip on his neck loosens as he emits a low growl. 

As they continue being attached to each other, Harry kisses Louis’ back, biting at the spot between his shoulder and neck.

“So good.” Harry groans.

They lay catching their breaths, but as soon as Harry’s knot goes down he’s ready to go again. 

Louis gets on his knees on the floor this time, with Harry on his feet. He opens his mouth sticking his tongue out letting Harry feed him his cock. It’s big, so big Louis can feel the stretch of his lips as he tries to take him in. Louis hollows his cheeks, sucking with purpose and Harry loses it.

“Fuck, baby. Your mouth.” 

Harry’s words only encourage Louis to keep going. Harry’s hands grab hold of Louis’ head and Louis moans. He moves his hands away, and lets Harry fuck into his mouth. Harry starts with shallow thrusts while Louis adjusts before fucking in deeper. Louis sputters a couple of times, but overall he’s able to keep up with Harry’s fast rhythm. He can feel his jaw starting to ache, but he’s loving having his mouth full of Harry’s cock. Harry stutters and that’s when Louis can feel his lips tightening around his knot as it’s expanding. Louis gags at first, but easily recovers. He’s never taken an alpha’s knot down his throat, and it’s not something he’d be opposed to trying again.

Harry is breathing heavily above him, his grip still tight on Louis’ head. He brings one hand to feel his own cock inside of Louis’ cheek and they both moan. The vibrations make Harry whine.

“Your mouth is amazing.” He tells him and Louis preens.

-

Louis wakes up from his nap with Harry laying soft kisses on his stomach.

“What are you doing?” Louis asks as a giggle escapes his lips.

Harry looks up, his lips still on Louis’ belly and then smiles. “I want you to have my babies.” He says.

Louis feels hot all of a sudden, his face flushing at the thought. “Yeah?”

Harry nods before flipping Louis over on his belly. “How many babies do you want, Lou?” He whispers in his ear as he nudges inside Louis’ hole. 

Louis groans. 

“I want three, maybe four.” Harry continues to whisper as he begins to thrust in and out of him. “Can’t wait to see you pregnant. Carrying our baby. Looking so hot, so, so. God!” 

Harry’s movements become more erratic and desperate and Louis is a whining mess beneath him, taking everything he has to give him.

“Yes, yes.” Is all Louis is coherent enough to say at this point.

Their bodies are sweaty and slippery, but Harry continues to move languidly in and out of him. Harry’s knot stretches Louis’ hole and he’s coming, hard and hot inside of him once again.

“Fuck!” Harry falls on top of Louis and they’re both breathless. 

After Harry’s knot has gone down, they’re both laying on the bed next to each other and Louis turns to look at Harry. He looks so fucked out. His hair is a mess, and his body glistens with sweat. 

“You know I’m on birth control right?”

Harry blushes, nodding. “Yeah. I get this really strong need to breed you when I’m in rut. Usually it’s to the Louis in my mind, but you’re actually here now. Probably should have warned you about that.” 

Louis leans over to kiss Harry on his lips. “It’s alright. I liked it.”

“Really?” Harry stares dumbfounded.

Louis nods. “Yeah.” He kisses Harry again and Harry moans. Louis looks and notices that he’s hard again. He bites his lip and prepares for another round. “I’ve got you, baby.”


	10. Epilogue

Harry squints trying to adjust to all the lights around him. All eyes are on him and this time he finds that he doesn’t feel as nervous.

“Good morning everyone. I know that it wasn’t long ago that I was at this very podium announcing that I would be taking over for Styles Incorporated. However, I have found that I’m not the best person for this position. I have decided, along with the support of my family, that Liam Payne will begin serving as CEO effective immediately. Liam has been CFO of the company as soon as I took over, and I think there is no one who is more qualified than him to make sure Styles Incorporated continues running smoothly. I’ll still be involved as director of the board for the company, but I trust that Liam will work hard on maintaining the standards Styles Incorporated has set. Thank you for your time.”

Harry steps down as he hears the cameras flashing. He walks toward Liam and shakes his hand as he steps up to make his speech. Harry looks proudly as his best friend talks to the media with such ease, he knows they’ve made the right decision. 

Liam had told Harry he was crazy when he first suggested it. He can still see Liam’s face looking at him like he’d grown a third head, but Harry had already made up his mind. His mom and Gemma were on board pretty easily, and Liam had eventually accepted. Harry didn’t hate being CEO, in fact, he finds that he enjoyed it despite the stress it brought to him from time to time. But it isn't what he’s meant to do. Harry was meant to create music, and with the encouragement of Louis, he plans to get back to it.

-

When Harry arrives home later that day he feels so much lighter, like a huge weight has been lifted off of his shoulders. He goes straight to his room to get out of his suit and into more comfortable clothing. 

They’re all supposed to be going out for drinks later tonight to celebrate Liam’s promotion, so Harry goes for a pair of jeans and his Rolling Stones t-shirt. It might have almost too many holes in it, but Harry refuses to let it go because it brings back too many memories.

As Harry digs his favorite Chelsea boots out of his closet his phone dings. He sits on his bed and grabs his phone seeing that he has an Instagram notification. Harry’s jaw drops.

It’s a notification from the Night Owls. Harry knows they’ve been retired for years, but he’s always kept their notifications on just in case. 

Harry can’t click on the app fast enough and when it finally loads, his heart starts to race. It’s a graffiti painting on the wall of Reckless Records. Harry can see a peek of the neon side at the far end of the picture. But that isn’t really what gets his full attention. On the wall are the words “Will you be my mate?” in bubble letters outlined in any and every color you can think of. In the picture he can see someone’s silhouette and it’s only one person this time, not the usual two like in other pictures.

Louis.

Harry jumps from the bed and rushes out the door to get into his car. He needs to go to Reckless Records right now. He manages not to break any traffic laws on his way, and when he gets there, sure enough. The wall art is still there. There’s people gathered around it, taking pictures and marveling at it. Harry would stay to do the same, but he has something more important to do.

Harry bursts through the front entrance and asks Phil where Louis is.

“He said to tell you he’s in his studio.” Phil tells him and Harry’s is heading over there before he can finish his sentence.

The studio is unlocked when he gets there and Harry walks up the steps. The room is illuminated by candles and Troye Sivan is playing on the record player. A knot forms at Harry’s throat, feeling so overwhelmed, wondering if he’s dreaming because this can’t be his real life. He can’t be this lucky. 

Louis is on one knee with a velvet box in his hand when Harry reaches the last step. A tear manages to make its way down his cheek. 

“Harry Styles. I’ve been in love with you since the moment I saw you. Your quirkiness and curls have made me a goner from the very beginning. I have considered myself the luckiest man in the world getting to have you in my life. We’ve been through some difficult times, but I look at that now as something that has only made our love stronger. It’s all been worth the wait with you, Harry, because I could never imagine wanting to spend the rest of my life with anyone else.” 

Louis’ voice cracks a little at the end of his speech, and Harry is dropping to his knees to join him. He takes Louis’ face in his hands and kisses him fervently, licking into the seam of his lips.

“I love you so much, Lou. Of course I’ll be your mate.”

They both laugh with tears in their yes and Louis looks down at the box in his hand. He opens it to reveal a beautiful silver band with the words ‘Always’ engraved. 

“It’s beautiful, Lou.” Harry sniffles.

Louis places it on his finger and the candlelight reflects on it. He takes Louis’ face again to kiss him some more. 

“God, I almost had a heart attack when I saw the notification from the Night Owls.” Harry tells Louis once they come up for air.

Louis grins. “I figured you might.” 

They lie on the floor basking in their happiness as the music continues to play. They don’t realize how much time passes until Harry gets a text from Liam asking where they are.

“Shit. We were supposed to meet with the group half an hour ago.”

They reluctantly get up and blow out all the candles.

“I’m sure this is probably a fire hazard.” Harry comments as he blows out the last one.

Louis shrugs. “Oops.”

Harry helps Louis lock up the rest of the shop. They’re meeting the rest of the group at a bar about a block away, so when they exit, Harry extends his hand.

“Let’s go, fiancee.” He says with a smile on his face.

“Fiancee.” Louis says, like if he’s testing out the word, taking Harry’s hand before they walk over to meet with their friends. 

-

The leaves crunch beneath Harry’s feet as he walks down the path. He can’t help but wonder the kind of lives the people lived as he passes by each plot. 

Harry catches sight of his father’s plot in the distance, and he can’t help but feel nervous, like he did when he approached his dad in real life. He takes a deep breath to calm his nerves, determined to do what he came here to do.

When he stops in front of his father’s plot he notices there’s fresh flowers in the vase provided. His mom makes sure to visit him when she can and always makes sure he has fresh flowers. He stands there in silence for a few moments, gazing at the field ahead of him, trying to gather up the courage to find his words.

“Hey dad.” Harry begins. He clears his throat, “I promised myself that I would never come here again, but here I am. I just needed to tell you that I forgive you. I forgive you for treating me more like a business associate than a son. For never showing any sort of affection towards me and always feeling the need to pressure me to do things I didn’t want to do. I forgive you because even though you broke me and Louis apart, we were able to find our way back to each other and we’re so much stronger for it. I love him so much, dad. I think that if you would have given him a chance, you would have liked him. 

“We’re having our bonding ceremony today and there’s a small part of me that actually wishes you were here to witness it. If not for your approval, just to see your face.” Harry chuckles. “I’m sorry. I’m still being petty. But really, I do forgive you. I promise that when I become a father, I’m going to love my children no matter what. I’m going to support them in whatever they want to do and with whoever they choose to fall in love with. I’m going to strive to be the father that I wish you would have been towards me.” He wipes a stray tear from his eye. 

“I know Louis will be a great father. He’s amazing, you know? I consider myself so lucky everyday when I wake up and find him there next to me. Anyway. I probably won’t see you for a while. We’re moving to Los Angeles. We’ll be back from time to time because Louis still has his shop, but our main home will be in LA. I already have a project lined up for a movie directed by Steven Spielberg. Can you believe it, dad? Yeah I couldn’t either.”

Harry looks around and sees a funeral taking place not far from him. “Well, take care dad. I hope you were able to find some peace wherever you are.” He places his hand on the stone plot, staring at his father’s picture one last time before turning around to walk away.

Harry feels a gust of cool wind against his face, and a wave of peace takes over him as he walks away with a smile on his face. 


	11. Time Stamp

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> In honor of this fic reaching 500 kudos I wanted to do a timestamp. The idea came from a comment I received, though this isn't exactly what they asked for I figured this would be sort of paving the way for that in another future time stamp. :)
> 
> Thanks so much to Emily and Nadya for looking this over and helping me edit this. Any remaining mistakes are mine.
> 
> As always, thank you for reading!

_ Remember when you taught me fate?  
Said it all be worth the wait _

 

It’s five o’clock in the morning and Louis is driving to the studio with sleep heavy eyes and a strong cup of coffee in his hand. He can never sleep well when Harry is traveling and not in bed next to him where he’s supposed to be. Their dog Clifford serves as another body next to Louis, but he likes to pretend that he’s the only one on the bed, leaving Louis with little to no room for him. Needless to say, by 4AM he’s wide awake.

Louis decides to head over to the studio and kill some time painting before opening the shop. When he’s in town, he likes to give his employees the morning off as reward for doing such a great job keeping the shop in tip top shape when Louis is in Los Angeles. It hasn’t been the easiest year and a half living in two cities at the same time, but Louis wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Harry has been busy since they moved to LA. Once he finished his project with Steven Spielberg, it opened so many doors for him that he’s become one of the most in-demand music composers in the industry. Harry is brilliant at what he does and Louis couldn’t be more proud. Louis still creates paintings as Blue and does art shows in different cities across the country, keeping him just as occupied. Still, there’s nothing like coming home to his mate and getting to spend time together. They make sure to plan their schedules accordingly so that they have plenty of time to themselves. 

Louis pulls into the shop’s parking lot and shuts off his car, taking a deep breath. He’s been so exhausted lately and he can’t wait to feel the relaxation that comes with cuddling with his mate. 

The familiar scent of paint greets him like an old friend when he unlocks his studio door. His morning painting ritual hasn’t changed even while living in another state. Harry made sure Louis had a studio in their new home and he really loves it, but for him, nothing will replace this space. He climbs the steps with heavy feet and as soon as he’s got music playing and his paintbrush dipping in paint, the exhaustion begins to melt away with each swirl of color he creates.

Whenever he paints, Louis gets lost in a sort of trance where it’s just him and his canvas. Harry has poked fun at him at times when he’s tried talking to him while Louis was painting and received zero reaction out of him. It’s because he’s taken to a different plane when he’s doing this, which is exactly one of the many reasons why he loves to do it so much. Painting is Louis’ best friend, one who has been there for him in good times and in bad, and who’s there to keep him company when Harry is away.

Before he knows it, his alarm is blaring, letting him know he has fifteen minutes before he needs to open the shop. Louis takes a step back to admire his work. He hasn’t quite finished it, but he’s sure he’ll be able to tomorrow. He used a lot of blues and greens in all sorts of shades, and he finds it aesthetically pleasing. With one last look at his creation, he moves to put his painting equipment where it belongs before opening the shop.

-

Around noon, one of Louis’ employees shows up to take over, so he leaves her to it. He and Zayn had made plans to meet for lunch, and he’s already running late.

Louis is greeted by a very frazzled Zayn with a crying toddler in his arms. Zayn got pregnant pretty much as soon as he and Liam said “I do” and Louis is honored to be the godfather of their pup. 

“Hey, Lou. Do you mind if we just have lunch here? Luna has a small fever and I don’t want to take her out like this,” he says apologetically.

Louis waves him off. “Of course.” 

Zayn visibly relaxes and kisses his daughter on her forehead. “Come on, baby, let’s get you to nap. Hopefully you’ll feel a lot better when you wake up.” He turns to Louis. “I’ll be right back. Make yourself comfortable.”

Louis nods and Zayn leaves to put Luna down for her nap. He sits down on the couch, and as soon as he feels the cushions beneath him he instantly melts into them, the exhaustion from this morning coming back in full force. It wouldn’t hurt to lie down for a bit while he waits for Zayn, so he does just that, and his eyes become heavy so he lets them close.

It’s the nausea that settles in Louis’ stomach that wakes him up. He opens his eyes and takes a look around, remembering that he’s at Zayn and Liam’s. The smell of something disgusting fills his nostrils and he stands up to see what the cause is. He finds Zayn in the kitchen taking the boxes of Chinese takeout out of the paper bags.

“What did you order? It smells terrible,” Louis says, finding a seat at the kitchen table.

Zayn furrows his eyebrows. “What are you talking about? I ordered your favorite— orange chicken and shrimp fried rice.”

Now, it’s Louis’ turn to look confused. He grabs the box with the orange chicken and sniffs at it, but it smells fine. He goes on to grab the box of shrimp fried rice and as soon as he opens it, he gags. He covers his mouth and runs to the nearest bathroom, emptying out his stomach into the toilet. After making sure he isn’t going to vomit again, he washes his mouth out.

“Can you get rid of that rice, please?” Louis asks, pinching his nose so he won’t catch a whiff of it again.

“Already done, love,” Zayn tells him.

Louis lets go of his nose and breathes in. Much better. “Thanks.” He sits back down and takes a bite of his chicken. “At least the chicken is good.”

When Louis looks up from his food, Zayn is staring at him with a look Louis can’t quite describe. He’s definitely got something on his mind.

Louis stops chewing. “What?”

“Are you pregnant?” 

Louis is caught off guard by his best friend’s question; his first reaction is to scoff. “I’m not pregnant. That rice is just bad. We should call that place about it.”

“It smelled fine to me,” Zayn mutters. “Plus, you’re always sleeping. The other day I had to come looking for you because you’d fallen asleep on the toilet.”

“I always have trouble sleeping when Harry’s out of town. It’s no big deal,” Louis brushes him off.

“Dude, the toilet incident happened when Harry was in the same city,” Zayn points out.

Louis drops his fork. Zayn is right. It happened the day before Harry left town. In fact, Louis has been feeling exhausted for weeks, and this isn’t the first time he’s been feeling sick, either. Just yesterday when he was refilling Clifford’s bowl his stomach had felt nauseous. His heart pounds hard against his chest. The possibility of being pregnant is starting to feel more real and it makes Louis want to throw up all over again.

“I have pregnancy tests in my bathroom if you want to check,” Zayn informs him, as if reading Louis’ thoughts.

Louis lets out a breath. “I guess I should check to make sure,” he says. Now instead of nausea, it’s nerves that begin to turn his stomach into knots.

After eating lunch, Zayn gives Louis a pregnancy test and gives him some privacy to do what he needs to do. Louis opens the box and pulls out the pamphlet full of instructions. It’s a lot of words for just having to pee on a stick and waiting to get the result. Louis really wishes Harry were here right now.

Louis pees on the stick and places the test on top of the sink. He opens the door to let Zayn in and they wait. It’s probably the longest two minutes of Louis’ life. When the timer finally goes off, Louis’ heart jumps. Both he and Zayn sit on the tub, but Louis makes no movement.

“Do you want me to check?” Zayn offers.

Louis nods, unable to say anything because there’s a knot in his throat. Zayn stands and walks over to the sink, looking down at the test. He lifts it up to get a better look at it, but when his face doesn’t give anything away, Louis wants to scream.

“So?” Louis asks.

Zayn’s eyes gaze at Louis. “It’s negative.”

Louis’ heart sinks. “Really?” His lip trembles so be bites down on it as tears threaten to spill from his eyes.

“It’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Zayn asks.

And it should be a good thing, because Louis and Harry aren’t necessarily ready to become parents. They’d agreed that they would work on having their own pups once Harry’s career settled down a bit and they weren’t traveling as much. Granted, they also haven’t been very careful with the birth control; they often forget condoms when they get caught up in the heat of the moment and Louis forgets to take his pill every now and then. So why is it that even though Louis knows they aren’t ready, having a pup is all he wants? And why is it that knowing he  _ isn’t _ pregnant is making him this upset?

Louis wipes at a tear that managed to trail down his cheek and sniffs. “Are you sure? It’s really negative?”

Zayn’s lips curve into a smile and he shakes his head. “It’s positive.” 

Louis scrunches his eyebrows and jumps up from where he was seated as Zayn places the test in front of him. Louis never thought two little pink stripes would bring him so much joy. Now, the tears falling from Louis’ eyes are happy ones.

“Why did you tell me it was negative?” Louis lightly shoves Zayn against the sink.

Zayn grunts. “It was a test to see how you really felt about having a pup. It worked, didn’t it?” 

Louis wants to smack the smug smirk off his best friend’s face. Instead, he rips the test from Zayn’s hands.

“Give me that. Also, that was mean, even for you.”

Zayn chuckles. “I’m sorry. So what are you going to do? Are you going to tell Harry?”

Harry. _ Of course _ Louis is going to tell Harry, but the question is  _ how _ he is going to tell him. Louis doesn’t want to tell his mate that they’re expecting their first pup over the phone. The wheels in Louis’ mind begin to turn as he forms a plan.

“Yeah, I am.”

-

Harry’s body instantly relaxes as soon as he’s in the same city as Louis, and this time it’s no different. He unlocks their front door, taking off his shoes and setting his suitcase aside, wanting nothing more than the wonderful scent of his omega, his home. 

“Lou?” Harry calls out. He isn’t in the living room or the kitchen, so Harry makes his way up the stairs in search for his mate. 

Harry climbs up the last step and there’s still no sign of Louis anywhere. He walks to the end of the corridor and opens their bedroom door. He can’t help but smile as he catches sight of Louis laying in bed, eyes closed and soft snores coming out of him. If Harry were to guess, Louis probably fell asleep waiting for him. Harry approaches the bed and climbs onto it carefully, hovering above Louis and watching him as he sleeps. His eyelashes are long and beautiful, his skin golden and glowing. Harry can’t hold back anymore and leans in to kiss his mate on the lips, then pecking him on the cheeks and forehead as well. When he pulls away, Louis’ eyes are fluttering open, confusion coloring his face until he seems to realize he’s awake and Harry’s here.

“Haz,” Louis’ voice rasps.

Harry kisses him again, this time deeper, swiping his tongue into Louis’ lips, having missed the taste and scent of his mate so, so much. Harry breathes him in before pulling away and laying next to him.

“Sorry, I fell asleep waiting for you.” Louis wipes the sleep from his eyes, smiling sheepishly.

“It’s alright. Where’s Clifford?” Harry realizes their dog isn’t around, jumping all over them like the cock block he normally is.

Louis yawns, stretching his arms and legs, letting Harry catch a glimpse of a sliver of skin that reveals itself as his shirt rides up.

“He’s out in the yard. Took him out about ten minutes ago.” 

Harry hums. “Okay. Well, I’ll go get him inside. Want me to make us something for dinner?” 

Harry rolls out of bed waiting for Louis to respond.

“Dinner sounds lovely. Go get Clifford first, though.” Louis tells him. He’s smirking like he’s hiding some sort of inside joke, one that Harry wants to be a part of, but he’ll ask him about it after he gets the dog.

Harry opens their patio door, and Clifford obediently runs inside, jumping on him when he realizes Harry’s home.

“I missed you too, buddy.” Harry pets him between the ears and Clifford licks him in the face.

He turns around to wash his hands in the sink before checking the fridge to see what he can make for dinner, but there isn’t much to work with. Harry wouldn’t be surprised if his omega spent most of his meals eating takeaway or mooching off of Zayn and Liam. He shakes his head fondly at the thought. He pulls out his phone and opens the Notes app to start making a list of items he needs to make a chicken alfredo when he hears Louis padding through the kitchen.

“Hey Lou, I’m going to the store to pick up some groceries. Anything you want me to get?” Harry asks, typing a list out on his phone. 

When he doesn’t get a response, he lifts his gaze up and his eyes go wide. Louis is standing in the middle of their kitchen with his hands on his hips. He’s wearing a white t-shirt that says “Guess what? I’m pregnant” on it in black letters. Harry puts the phone on the counter and strides over to his omega.

“Are you serious?” He asks, afraid that it’s all a dream that he’ll soon wake up from.

Louis nods, grinning, a tear trickling down from his eyes. He sniffs. “Yes. I just found out a few days ago. Fuck! I haven’t been able to stop crying since.”

Harry reaches out and wipes the tears with his thumbs before pulling Louis in for a kiss.

“So, we’re having our own pup?” Harry asks again, somehow needing to hear it again.

“Yes. We’re having a pup.” Louis confirms. “Are you okay with that?”

Harry scoffs gently. “I’m more than okay. It’s all I’ve ever wanted since we bonded.”

Louis raises an eyebrow. “The first or second time?”

Harry captures Louis’ lips into another kiss. “The first. I’ve wanted you to have my pups since the moment I found out you were an omega, baby. Maybe even before that.”

Harry wraps his arms around Louis and leans against him, nuzzling into his neck. He can feel Louis scenting him, and Harry does the same, taking him in. Louis still smells like strawberries and sugar, but there’s something a little different that wasn’t there before, something softer like vanilla. 

“You’re going to be a great father to our pup. You know that, right?” Louis mumbles against his chest.

A wave of affection takes over him and he can feel his eyes prickling with tears. Harry swallows down the knot in his throat. “I hope so.”


	12. Valentine's Day Time Stamp

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day! 
> 
> I deleted it as a series, because I prefer to add the time stamps as extra chapters in the fic itself. If I were to do a sequel/series, I would revisit the time Harry and Louis spent apart because I feel that there's so much to explore there. Who knows, maybe someday I'll get around to it. In the meantime, enjoy this little gem :)
> 
> Thanks to Lynda for the quick betaing. All mistakes are mine.

  
  


Pink. Everywhere he turns there’s pink and red. Heart shaped balloons, streamers, you name it. When Lynda asked Louis if she could decorate the shop for Valentines Day he didn’t expect for it to look like Cupid himself puked all over the place. 

However, he doesn’t complain about it because he knows that if he wasn’t eight months pregnant, barely able to stand without feeling any sort of pain for more than five minutes he’d be totally okay with the decorations. And if Harry were in the same city as Louis he’d be leading the Valentine’s Day decorating parade. 

“Louis are you okay?” Lynda shoots him a worried glance. “You look tired.”

Louis huffs in frustration. ‘You look tired’ is a polite way of telling someone they look like shit. He takes a deep breath and places a hand on his protruding belly. Getting a feel of Sophie moving around inside of him, reminding him of the life forming is always calming.

“I’m a bit tired, yes. I didn’t get much sleep last night. This little one wouldn’t sit still,” he smiles fondly down at his future pup. 

Harry spends at least an hour talking to her every night before bed making her listen to one of Mozart’s symphonies Louis can’t remember the name of. He insists their pup is never too young to know about the greats. Louis just rolls his eyes fondly and lets Harry do his thing. Sophie seems to enjoy it as much as her father, go figure. 

Last night Sophie didn’t get to listen to Mozart or Tchaikovsky or whoever. Louis had a late night at the studio finishing the last painting he needed for the collection of the art show he’s been preparing for. It’s his last one before taking some time off for the baby. It’s also why Harry’s out of town, taking care of some loose ends so they’re both ready to welcome their pup into the world.

Still, Louis misses his mate and would give anything for one of his cuddles. He pushes through, resigning himself to sitting on his office chair he’d pulled out to make himself more comfortable while working on some inventory stuff.

Around lunch time he decides to leave the shop and drive around to get some fresh air. It’s surprisingly nice for February, but they’re already on a winter advisory for tomorrow and Louis is trying not to stress out about the possibility of Harry’s flight being cancelled or delayed. He’s been looking forward to his mate’s arrival all week and that would be the cherry on top of a miserable week.

Louis stops by the house to let Clifford out for a bit when his phone rings.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Louis. Just wanted to check in on how the last piece to the collection is going?”  Zayn asks on the other end. 

“Hi Zayn! Happy Valentine’s Day to you too. I’m doing well, thanks. How are you?” Louis replies sarcastically.

Zayn laughs. “Sorry. I just got a call from a very stressed out Meg worrying it wasn’t going to be done on time. I reassured her it would be, but you know her. How are you?”

Louis sighs. “I’m fine. A bit cranky actually.”

“No!” Zayn gasps exaggeratedly. 

“Shut up. I’m just having a hard time without Harry and today isn’t helping. Lots of sappy shit happening around me.” Louis explains.

“Do you want to join me and Liam for dinner tonight so you won’t be alone?” Zayn offers.

“Oh god, that’s just sad. No, I wouldn’t want to ruin your night. Plus you got a babysitter and everything, I don’t want to witness all the foreplay that will no doubt happen at the dinner table. I won’t be surprised if pup number three comes as a result of the night you two have planned,” Louis blanches.

“Suit yourself then.”

After hanging up, Louis calls Clifford back and locks up before heading back to the shop. He stops by Chipotle on his way, craving guacamole like crazy. The rest of the afternoon is pretty uneventful. They get a good amount of customers, many wanting to find something for their special someone and overall it’s bearable.

Louis offers to lockup, letting Lynda leave a little early to surprise her mate. He pounds the code for the alarm before leaving and getting into his car. The grocery store is on his way home, so Louis stops to get ice cream, a frozen pizza and some snacks. He plans on binge watching one of the new shows on Netflix he’s had his eyes on and Skyping with Harry somewhere in between. 

Maybe he should have thought better of it because now that he just pulled up to their driveway and he’s carrying all these bags they’re heavy. God, he misses Harry who doesn’t let him lift pretty much anything insisting he do it so he won’t hurt the baby. Louis has told him multiple times that he can carry things, just not over exert himself but Harry won’t have it. Deciding to play it safe either way, he carries a couple of bags with a plan to come back for the rest as much as it pains him to think about returning. 

All he wants to do is lay on their couch and never get up.

Louis unlocks the door and pauses. It’s dark because it’s evening and the sun goes down earlier in the day, but there’s light coming from somewhere. A glow that reflects against one of the back walls from where Louis stands catches his eyes. He wrinkles his eyebrows and walks inside cautiously, closing the door behind him and clutching his phone in his hand in case he needs to call for help. The bags are forgotten on the floor by the entrance as he makes his way inside trying to follow the light.

When he gets there, Louis gasps because there’s more light. Dozens of candles illuminate the living room leading up the stairs. Louis’ heart races as he follows the illuminated path. It vaguely reminds him of his proposal to Harry and that magical moment they shared together. His heart skips at the memory. When he climbs the steps, one by one, the candles lead him to their bedroom’s ensuite. When Louis gets there, his jaw falls to the floor.

Harry stands there in the tiniest little red shorts he’s ever seen on him. Louis’ cock twitches in his pants at the sight, but he needs to focus because that’s not the only thing he sees. Their bathtub is filled with water and  covered with red and pink rose petals. Louis takes in a breath and it smells glorious, instantly relaxing him. He’s sure it mostly has to do with Harry and his scent. Suddenly all the stress and frustration he’d been feeling this week melts away, just like that.

“Hi, baby.” Harry breaks the silence, his voice as deep and raspy as it always is.

It only takes those two words for Louis to lose it. His lip trembles and the tears stream down his face. He sobs as he runs into Harry’s arms and embraces him as tightly as he can.

Harry is there for him instantly, rubbing his back comfortingly, kissing him on the head and whispering in his ear.

“Shh, it’s okay love.”

Louis sniffles. “I just missed you so much. This is all I wanted, for you to be home and you are.” He sobs into Harry’s bare chest. He’s getting tears and snot all over him, but Harry doesn’t seem to care.

Harry takes Louis’ face in his hands, wipes the tears from his face with his thumbs and plants a soft kiss on his lips.

“I missed you too, baby. You have no idea what I did to get here as soon as I could. I love you so much.” Harry takes Louis lips again, this time deepening the kiss with more purpose. He licks into the seam of Louis’ lips and he whimpers, wanting nothing more than the taste of his alpha.

“Come on, the bath is going to get cold.” Harry tells him helping him strip off his clothes. “I’ve already had to add hot water twice. Where were you? Lynda told me you were locking up, but you should have been home a while ago.”

“I stopped at the store to stock up on snacks. I was planning on wallowing in my own self pity while binge watching Netflix,” Louis admits.

Harry smiles fondly and kisses him on the nose. “There’s been a change of plans.” Louis is more than okay with that.

Harry helps Louis into the tub before joining him, settling right behind him. He rubs at Louis’ neck, shoulders and back. Louis is in heaven.

“That feels so good,” Louis moans, leaning into each touch Harry gives him. 

Harry eventually settles his hands on Louis’ belly, rubbing soothing circles. It doesn’t take much time before Sophie is moving around, as if sensing that her daddy is home.

“She missed you, you know? Hasn’t let me sleep much all week.” Louis informs Harry.

“Aww, don’t worry baby. Daddy’s here.” Harry kisses the tips of his fingers before placing them on Louis’ belly again.

His fingers trail down to Louis’ thighs, caressing the skin there so softly it makes Louis shiver. 

“You know what else I missed?” Harry whispers in his ear, his breath hot.

“Hmm?” is all Louis can muster. He’s a right mess whenever he’s got Harry’s hands on him.

Harry’s hand travels down between his legs. Louis can’t see his hand anymore because his belly is in the way, but when he feels Harry’s fingers wrap around his cock, he doesn’t need to.

The strokes are firm and long. Louis should be embarrassed how little it takes him to get hard but the past eight months lowered his bar. Sometimes even just a faint breeze laced with Harry’s scent will make him rock hard. He can’t help his hormones.

“Oh God,” Louis moans as Harry’s strokes get faster. 

“You want me inside you, baby? I bet you want it so bad, don’t you?” Harry rasps and Louis is nodding before he even finishes the question.

Harry halts his movements, making Louis whine but then his fingers slide into Louis’ hole and it shuts him up quick.

“Look at you already so open for me. Just ready to take my knot. I love it.” Harry doesn’t take long in opening him up, with Louis begging for his knot and Harry’s own erection poking him they don’t want to wait any longer.

Harry guides Louis, lifting him up slightly so that he lines him up. He lowers Louis slowly onto his cock and Louis goes pliant as soon as he’s seated on it.

“We’re going to do this slowly, okay? I promise you’ll get my knot.” 

Louis nods and lets Harry take charge. Harry’s hands fall on his hips and he moves slowly, grinding against him in circles. It’s deep and hitting right at his prostate with each movement. Louis leans his head against Harry.

“You like that?”

“Yes, love it so much,” Louis groans after one particular deep thrust.

It continues like this for what feels like hours, but Louis is sure it’s really not that long. The pleasure builds at a slow, maddening pace, but when Louis comes he sees fireworks.

“That’s it, baby. Let go.” Harry is coming too. Louis yelps when he feels his alpha’s knot stretching him open. 

It’s everything he wants, everything he needs.

After Harry’s knot goes down, he washes Louis’ hair and scrubs his body gently with a loofah before they rinse off. Harry gets out of the tub first to help Louis and dries him with one of their fluffy towels. 

“I made lasagna,” Harry tells him as they walk into their bedroom to put clothes on.

“What time did you get here? I came home for lunch.” Louis asks.

Harry grins, shrugging. “I know, I saw your car in the driveway and had to drive around for a bit until you left.”

Louis smacks him playfully on the arm. On their way down to the kitchen Harry puts out the candles one by one.

“We’re going to set off the smoke alarm with all these,” Louis muses.

Harry gets the food ready and plated while Louis let’s Clifford out of his room. He remembers about the bags he’d left haphazardly by the door and the rest he’d left in the car, putting everything where it belongs. 

They eat comfortably on their couch, where Louis had originally planned to spend alone he’s now with the love of his life and their unborn pup kicking about every now and then. He rubs at his belly, thankful for such a miracle and excited for what lies ahead for them.

Lous’ phone chimes on the coffee table when he’s comfortable being spooned by Harry on the couch as they watch Russian Doll with Clifford sleeping peacefully on the floor next to them. Grunting, he reaches for it seeing he’s got a text from Zayn.

_ Happy Valentine’s Day. Tell Harry I said hi ;) _

Louis rolls his eyes, placing the phone back on the table. He’s too content to worry about how his employee and best friend knew about Harry’s plans. Right now, he just wants to bask in the comfort and scent of his alpha. He’ll make sure to get back at those two another time.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave a comment or kudo if you already haven't :)

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it as much as I loved writing it :)
> 
> Thank you for reading! Don't forget to leave kudos or a comment if you enjoyed the fic so far :) You can also come talk to me on [tumblr](https://dimpled-halo.tumblr.com/).
> 
> You can also reblog the fic post on tumblr [here](https://dimpled-halo.tumblr.com/post/173081756128/strawberries-cigarettes-by-dimpledhalo).


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